Iunctum of Adversus
by ghost-alchemist09
Summary: AU. Ciel ends up in a mysterious castle after an accident and is now being pursued by the inhabitants of the castle because of the Azoth he carries. /Note: Haunting Ground storyline with a twist/ Chapter 22 UP!
1. Infinitas infinitio Melody

_Little chimes echoed the blood red hallway as he walked through…_

"_Adveho hic… Operor non vereor, parvulus…" A gentle yet haunting voice beckoned him to come closer…_

_He walked on, ignoring the cold draft gently passing over him, he held the silk sheet close to him like a cloak. He kept his gaze forward and walked on without hesitation…_

"_Ego sum hic... Operor non vereor mihi…" The little chimes continued to toll like a lullaby and the gentle voice beckoning him was like a spell. _

"_Ego vilis vos haud vulnero…"_

…_And then blood flowed down from his eyes slowly and gently, down to his face, lips, neck and the rest. The blood did not halt its flow downward…_

_The chimes tolled louder; the spellbinding voice was chanting the same lullaby all over again; the blood never ceased to flow; and the hallways were blood red still._

_His blood-drenched footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as he walked on the haunting ground in an endless melody…_

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**A/n: **Haunting Ground and Kuroshitsuji fans unite! This is my first go in the Horror genre. Hope it does have the feel of horror compared to the early ones I have attempted... and discarded to the recycling bin at school (guiltily looks at my notepad).

You have seen the summary, no? If you don't know what Haunting Ground is, it's a game that has an alchemy theme and something about the Azoth (shudders). Find the playthroughs in Youtube and you'll get an idea what this will be.

I'll do my best to update.


	2. Captus Parvulus

_**Prologue: Captus Parvulus**_

Rats silently scurried from corner to corner; avoiding any sign of danger with the most of their abilities. Rain water from the crevices of the walls and the roof dripped down below the darkness. A deranged man dragged a newly butchered beast almost effortlessly on top of a damp, wooden table. He had a lightly muscled yet, slim and scarred physique; though his features were not of that of a deranged person. His eyes were wide and round like a child's and his canines protruded from his lips. All the more when he smiled, all his teeth were sharpened like canines; like that of the dogs.

He took his butchering knife and began to chop the beast into serving pieces. He hung all these at the meat hooks displayed beside the table. Of course, all these tasks were not done discreetly…

An explosion of the thunder startled the deranged servant so much that he growled and flinched. The flash of the thunder was so bright that he feared to be blind. The flash illuminated the dark stone cellar shortly; it looked more like a butcher's shop with numerous chains and cages scattered about; not only as the room's accessories but for a certain purpose not worth mentioning. The butchered beast's blood shone around the area; the servant was not so tidy in doing his task, indeed.

Aside from the deranged servant, there was something… somebody, rather, worth of being recognized. In one of the cages, there lay inside a human, a little boy, to be precise. He appeared to be of a tender youth and he was stripped naked from head to toe. But a pearl white silk sheet was draped over him like a blanket as if he was expected to awaken very soon…

The servant finally noticed the presence of this little captive and approached the cold cage. A sudden gush of curiosity took hold of him and stared at the boy with desire. The boy was as beautiful as a china doll and he wanted to open the cage and play with him. The servant pulled the lock out of its latch with all his strength until the skin of his palms stretched and bled. He kicked the cage in frustration when the lock refused to break. The cage shook and the little captive stirred unconsciously. The servant went back into staring at his perfect china doll in the cage; he wanted the china doll out of the cage so badly, like a child desiring to open a wrapped present.

Lightning flashed again and the servant flinched in fear. The fear was so unbearable that he fled the stone cold room, screaming and growling like a mad dog. The thunderstorm began its fury; the raindrops beat furiously against everything it came contact with and the thunder bellowed and flashed its wrath throughout the castle…

… And that was when the little captive violently woke up, not because of the angry thunder that flashed repeatedly but because of a nightmare: A runaway car furiously collided with their car… He was sitting in the car with his parents… He heard them scream as the car crashed… A man plunged a dagger through his father's body and the front seat…

He woke up as he screamed in terror. The nightmare was the worst thing he had dreamed of. The images were being drilled and pounded into his mind, for he could still feel the pressure of the pain. With his eyes open, he became aware of his current state: naked and confined in an animal cage; his location resembled to that of a dark butcher's shop. He feared the truth of what his fate would be when he saw numerous carving knives, dripping with blood, skewered on chunks of meat on the wooden table. The darkness, the cold and the thunderstorm did nothing to calm him down from panic; he had to escape as quickly as possible before he ends up butchered like the beasts in the room.

He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes to calm down. He had to calm down or he wouldn't be able to plan things properly. After a minute, he managed to relax and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. He looked around the cage. "There has to be a lock here somewhere." He thought. And to his success, he saw the tarnished lock. And fortunately, it was broken and disfigured as though someone had hit it in an attempt to unlock it without the use of a key. He gasped in joy at the fortunate discovery and instantly proceeded to remove the lock from the latch. The struggling sounds of the lock echoed throughout the remote room; his heart pounding faster and faster with the tension-filled moment as the lock slowly and gradually let go of its place.

And he was finally free! He crawled out of the cage as soon as the cage's small door swung out of his way. At last, he was able to stand as a dignified person; not caged and cramped up in an animal cage. He inhaled the scent of freedom even though the scent was not fresh or sweet in an environment littered with beasts' meat. Still, the air inhaled of being a captive was not the same of a liberated person.

Though in general he was liberated from his prison, he still felt somewhat, bound. To prove his point, his clothes were nowhere to be seen. The silk sheet he was made to acquaint himself with would certainly do as his clothing for the moment. Though the sheet was too small for comfort; it was tightly wrapped over his torso and the rest of the sheet hung loose down to his thighs only. His movements were mostly restricted, to say the least.

The whole place was completely tranquil. The silence was deafening and Ciel Phantomhive's awkward footsteps can only be heard in the room. The boy searched through the darkness for the way out and when he found his objective, he stopped abruptly…

A low growl reverberated throughout the room; though the sound was somehow faint and frightening, the boy was curious of the source. He was a curious little boy, and he never lets go of a question he had come up with, unless it is answered and understood.

It seems that the growling sound was coming under the wooden table. So he crouched down to satisfy his curiosity. Though he could not comprehend what the growling silhouette was supposed to be, he was aware that it was certainly an animal. The glowing red slits which were the creature's eyes leered at him quite viciously...

And then the unknown beast tackled him and the boy yelped as the creature's claws scratched his collarbone upon contact and sent him sprawling ungraciously on the floor. Whatever the creature was, it was like a black dog, though it appeared larger and furrier than a normal dog. The creature leaped and fled up to the way out in a flash. Ciel looked at the path the creature went earlier and it was best if he followed the same path too. But before he reached the steps, he stepped on a strap with a metal plate. Curious, he picked it up; in the darkness, it shone and revealed a name engraved on it.

"Sebastien…" He mumbled. He wondered if the mysterious creature's name was Sebastien, but he had neither use for that name plate nor the creature. So, he left the strap and picked himself up from the floor. He carefully walked to the way out; the silk sheet flowing along with the incoming direction of the wind as the boy ascended on the stone steps.

"Where am I?" He mused. "I was… in a car… with my parents… and… I…"

* * *

**A/n: **OK guys so you now know who is who here?

**Fiona Belli** - Ciel Phantomhive

To others, I won't spoil who's who until the right chapter arrives :)


	3. Locus Incompertus

_**Chapter 1: Locus Incompertus**_

The greetings of the crows welcomed him as he finally got out of that dark cellar, or whatever that cold, dark room is. He was relieved that he was into an environment where he could see his surroundings. His bare feet treaded on the dry and crusty ground; the murder of crows fled to the dark twilight sky whenever he passed by their resting places. Though he seemed nonchalant to the croaky cries of the crows, the pressure of panic pounded in his chest. He walked on, and saw a wide, semi-circular area of stone steps with wooden benches on the top-most step. Also, there was a withered oak tree standing behind those benches; perhaps the wide, stone-laid area served as a lounging area to bathe in the sun or an area to cool one's head. Ciel lingered in the area to observe more signs of a possible occupant residing in the stone walled shelter he could see a few steps from his location.

He could see numerous pots of plants and they were very healthy and well-attended. A shovel was left punctured on the ground, and a sprinkling can was left on the outdoor lounging area. At least someone is tending the vegetation of the area, though most of the trees and plants were already withered and dry. There were also short lamp posts perched on the stone wall hubs and these lamps were lit for the mere purpose of illumination. These observations were enough to support Ciel's idea that somehow, he was not isolated in an unknown location.

He went up the first flight of stone stairs leading to a porch… well, the way he sees it anyway. The assumed porch was a long way up and all the walls and stairs were made of stone. "This place must be a manor of some sort." He thought.

He had the first flight of stairs covered and he saw that the floor he is currently on, led to another area around the manor. But now is not the time to let his curiosity to get over him. He had to ask the owner of this manor some important questions; like his current location and his parents' whereabouts. He went up the second flight of stairs and he saw a door before him after the spacious area at the top-most step. Perhaps he should knock the door first? It was rather impolite to enter somebody's home without them knowing it, especially if the stranger had no clothes on.

He knocked at the door and he waited for a response. But nothing happened. He knocked again but more loudly than the previous attempt. Still no response. He attempted another knock when the door suddenly opened and Ciel blushed for his awkwardness.

The person in front of him was a woman. "I guess she is one of the maids working here…" He thought. "She's so beautiful…" She was tall, and of angelic grace and beauty. She had shoulder-length, silver, wavy hair; dull, lavender eyes; an oval and unblemished face; and fair white skin. Her outfit consisted of a pale lavender, leather bolero with gold embroidery on the shoulder and chest area and cuffs; underneath the bolero is a turtleneck, cream, cotton blouse with a violet broach on the collar; a lace-trimmed apron was wrapped around her waist; a hobble-like skirt that matched her bolero; white stockings and purple and gold trimmed, heeled, leather boots. She gently gazed at him as if she were expecting him to come.

"Apologies, young master," She bowed courteously, which surprised the boy along with the 'young master' title. "For not responding immediately to your call."

"Uhmm…" Ciel sheepishly took a tiny step back.

She regained her posture once more. "Please, you must step inside. You must not let your body suffer with the cold."

Ciel obliged, though he was a little bit embarrassed with the situation. Maybe the maid was only doing what she was instructed to do? The maid stepped aside from the door; a gesture that he should go first. After he did so, the maid followed.

His jaw almost dropped in awe when he had stepped inside. The room must be the receiving area, but it was too splendid to be acknowledged as such. The room was decorated with antique like furniture: the coffee table and chairs he could see on his left were of the smoothest and polished wood and, he observed, had a gothic design. The window behind the left of the coffee table was made of fogged glass and it was directed to see the outdoor lounge he saw earlier. There were other accessories in area that even though, eerie, complemented the room perfectly: there was an empty, black birdcage hanging on the right of the door; a few vases of white roses on the coffee table and on top of a customized credenza to his right; oddly enough there was a tiny TV on top of the latter furniture. In front of him, there was a set of drawers with a pair of scales placed on top of it. "Maybe it's for weighing things." He thought. "The occupant here must have placed it here for convenience."

His curiosity got the better of him that he failed to notice the maid supposedly leading him the way. He didn't notice her until she spoke, "I've made a fire for you, young master, in case you are very cold."

Ciel blushed again. "This is odd…" He thought. "Why is she referring me as young master? I don't even live here." He followed where the maid went.

After he went up the small flight of stairs before him, the area became all the more strange when he saw a grandfather clock; a large, four-poster bed and a fireplace. The receiving area immediately connected to the bedroom? Usually, the bedroom is in another floor; the occupant of the manor must have an odd taste in style.

The maid stood beside the four-poster bed and she gestured to a pile of clothing on the bed, "I've gathered some clothes for you."

"Th-thanks…" He mumbled. Now that was a relief. He couldn't stand getting around any longer with only a silk sheet covering his body.

The maid was going to exit through the door beside the fireplace, when Ciel suddenly stopped her. "Wait! Don't go…"

The maid turned to gaze at him again.

"Uhmm… Excuse me, but where exactly are we?" He asked. "…And how did I get here? Why are you calling me young master?" Though he sounded quite rude, all his questions were needed to be answered. But the maid left her gaze upon the boy to look at a portrait beside the grandfather clock.

"Yes master, we will be keeping him here for a while." She said to the portrait in a smooth voice. "I'll make sure that he stays comfortable."

Ciel frowned at her and looked at the same portrait that she was speaking to. The portrait bore a picture of an aged man with a scarlet background. "Perhaps he is the owner of the manor." Ciel thought. But at the moment he looked at him, he suddenly saw an image that somehow connected itself to his early nightmare…

…A man gazed at him longingly through the broken window of the car… and he laughed as if in triumph…

And terrifying images of the car crash came racing through his mind, along with the laughing man. The scenes all seem to connect, but all of them were terrifying. "No! They can't be dead! It can't be true!" The pounding pain racked his head once again and his legs suddenly gave out. The pain was getting to him and he suddenly felt fatigued.

"It can't be true…It's no good… everything is so fuzzy…" He said in a whisper. "I have to ask the owner of this manor about my parents…" He shook his head to clear the terrible images away. He retained his position to calm himself down a bit.

The ticking noise of the grandfather clock disturbed the silence relentlessly, and at the same time it dictated how much time Ciel had wasted in his position; the burning fire aided him in getting his feeling back as it melted away the chill of his body. Contented, he stood up and prepared himself to get dressed. The beautiful maid was nowhere to be seen. "She must've continued her duties some place else." He thought. He dismissed his thoughts about the maid to focus on what he is about to do next.

He took a look at the clothes prepared for him on the bed. The clothes consisted of a white, cotton, long bell-sleeved, button-up shirt with black cuffs; a thick, black, silk ribbon; a diamond broach; a grayish-black, vest-styled, tail coat; black shorts; a pair of long, black socks; a black belt of beads and crosses; and a pair of black, leather, lace-up boots lying visibly under the bed. He picked up the clothes and thought for a moment about it. The clothes were excellent in detail but he felt that it was too much and it was unbecoming of him to use somebody else's property like this. But then again, he was offered to do so; he can't just run around the place almost naked, can he?

So he removed the knot that secured the sheet from his body and let it fall to the floor. In doing so, it revealed the equally fair-skinned, feminine body of the 15 year old boy. Though he is 15 years old, his stature was short from normal and he had long legs to be proud of, at least. His eyes too were also odd; considering about their shade of blue. On his left eye, his iris had the odd shade and traces of violet and blue, while the other had the normal shade of cerulean blue. His father reasoned that he had an eye defect when he was born. But what defect it is, he didn't specifically mention, nor did Ciel ever bothered to ask.

And the most unusual of all was his beauty. He did not have the attractiveness of a man or the slightly androgynous attribute of his father. Ciel, entirely, had the beauty of a young woman; far from the beauty of his mother. He had the curves and the delicate and pointed fingers of a woman but ultimately, he did not have the parts of a woman, such as the breasts and the rightful genitals. Ciel didn't know if he liked himself of being a 'beautiful boy' as his mother teased him about it. He just found it odd that he possessed odd attributes like these.

Oh, how he missed his parents now…

And all of a sudden, he could feel a surveying gaze upon him in the empty room. Though he could see that there was really no one there, the feeling remained that he was still being watched.

Ciel began to dress up. Though it was his first time to wear an odd outfit provided for him, he did his best to put the articles of clothing in the rightful places. How comfortable and almost at home he felt when he put on those clothes, besides them from keeping him warm. The clothes were an amazingly tailored fit, though he noted that the shorts were a bit tight on his thighs and back and the awkwardness that he felt that most of his legs were exposed; but overall, they were alright.

He looked at himself at the 3-way mirror in front of the dresser behind the bed. This mirror was very convenient for it covered an entire wall. Ciel could see for himself at all front angles; the outfit complemented well with his jet black hair and also brought out the shining blue of his eyes. He almost cringed at the sight of his feminine figure; the vest had pronounced his little waist even more.

He attempted to confidently walk through the door the maid exited through. The boots were quite stiff, but he got used to it eventually after walking and pacing around the room. But before he went to the door, he brought his attention back to the painting of the aged man. His mysterious image connected itself to his nightmare earlier though it was not very clear. He squinted to inspect the painting a little more.

"Wait a minute… I remember being in a car… with…" He brought his hand to his abdomen and a vague memory… or maybe a dream suddenly came to him. While he was barely conscious amongst the rubble of the crushed car, the mysterious man laughed as if in triumph and fondly stroked his abdomen and eventually, the rest of his body up to his cheeks. And shortly after that, he had lost consciousness. He wondered why that man did that sort of thing… maybe he was the one who brought him here?

It was time that he demanded the master of the manor his whereabouts along with his list of questions. The grandfather clock struck at 4 o'clock with its nostalgic feel of chimes echoing in the room. He shook his head to put aside the vague memory for a while and went to the door.

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**A/n: **I did my best on the details! I made this story more descriptive for those who do not know the game. Oh and do I really have to describe Ciel's body? Yes, I do because it has something to do with the story (don't ask me about that yet).

Alchemic tarts for:

**beckahm – **O.o Eight chapters?! Uhh… you're joking right? I'm still writing Chapter 6. With school work and exams bugging me, I could not write very fast. I might not be able to write at the beginning of October. Sorry, but I think that's quite impossible to do upload the 8 chapters. But I'll try to update still.

**Kuro 4 eva!!! **– Of course, Sebastian's in here! Uhh… does that mean you don't like shonen-ai? Because I already conceptualized the story; this is a CielXSeb fanfic (despite all the numerous stalkers :) but, I respect your preferences. Thanks for reading!

**LovelyWickedDescet – **Glad you think so! But there's a twist here, I tell you!

Thanks for the review guys! Have an alchemic tart... in your dreams XD (people: MEANIE!!! DX )


	4. Insons Insontis Freak

_**Chapter 2: **__**Insons insontis Freak**_

Sometimes, Ciel couldn't help but stare and stop in wonder in observing and looking at the details, accessories and structures of the manor. Ciel had a passion for art so architecture, music and paintings always aroused his interest to observe an object of interest and waste time. The manor had all the mentioned things to offer, and there was this hint of a wish that he wanted to reside there forevermore. However, the truth remained that somebody else had already been blessed with the privilege so, he could not do anything about it.

The gothic themed manor had an eerie, dark and mysterious atmosphere; and Ciel liked it to say the least. Every pillar, ledge, wall, arch, banisters and everything was made of stone; the sources of illumination were candles and chandeliers only, thus making the manor poorly lighted. There were a few details that proved that the manor was quite ancient; there were a few chipped stones on the floor and the wallpaper on some walls were yellowish and peeling. But what bothered the boy most was that he felt strangely at home with the manor and that he ought not to be. He shook his head one more time to set his objectives straight:

First, he had to find the master of the house.

Second, he had to ask about his whereabouts and his parents.

Then, ask the master a favor to send him home… the next day. He still wanted to explore the manor a little more.

Ciel ventured around the manor even if he didn't know where he really was going. He just went through doors that were open. They had to lead to somewhere…

He came to a hallway of sorts; the structures formed spaces to be used as windows, making it essential as a balcony also. The smooth stone pillars were encased in lush, creeping vines and the view outside made present the dark, violet twilight sky and a castle or tower of sorts hiding among the trees and mists of the forests. Some crows rested on the ledges and they seemed to be crowding around on a particular ledge.

Ciel's presence disturbed the crows thus, they all took flight. It revealed a gruesome detail surrounding the pillar: a dead rabbit was splattered on the ledge, bleeding. The crows had ripped most of its flesh and some limbs apart and the rabbit struggled in its breathing. The rabbit had lost its ears, tail and a front paw; all had bleeding stumps in its place, but it still leaped when Ciel approached it. Ciel gasped and panicked. "What's that rabbit doing here?!"

The rabbit had leapt off the ledge, down to its death below. The muffled crunching sound Ciel heard a little later had sufficed that the rabbit had destroyed itself to end its pain. Ciel refused to look down the ledge; panic was pounding in his heart and breathing. Anymore of that would not do to ease his increasing fatigue in going around the manor.

He walked faster to get through the hallway. He saw another door to his left and walked up to it, but it was locked in the inside like the other locked doors he came upon. It left him no choice but to do down the dark corridor after the balcony-hallway. While walking through the corridor, he came upon a fork hallway; on his left, it lead to a door blocked by a box and on the right, was a well lit corridor. He chose to go to the left corridor, but the right corridor bought his attention the most.

A shadow of a figure was on the wall; Ciel assumed it to be a person for it had arms and a mop of hair on a head. He stopped dead on his tracks and watched the shadow strangle something. Not satisfied in watching the shadow, he carefully peered from the wall to get a glimpse of the owner of the shadow. But when he almost got a view of the person, a doll was thrown at his face; the surprise shocked him so much that he fell to the floor. His heart was beating fast and his breathing was in a quicker rate; it made him feel more fatigued than ever. He took a deep breath to calm down and looked at the doll on the floor. It was a bisque doll dressed in a black gown and bonnet, trimmed with white lace. He picked it up to examine it a little closely; the doll had a white, skull-like face and he wondered what sort of person would play with a creepy-looking plaything like this?

As he pondered on, he heard quick footsteps approaching him. He looked at the direction of the sound but he was too late to dodge what was coming to him.

A man had tackled and pinned him down to the floor. He was panting and growling like a dog. As he caught sight of the bisque doll, he snatched it from Ciel's hands and retreated a small distance away. The man was rather deranged and had a behavior like that of an animal; his body was bent to crawl in all fours; he panted like a gleeful dog as he inspected the doll. The man's hair was disheveled and white; his eyes were a striking magenta and were wide and round like a child's; he had a lightly muscled yet, slim and scarred physique; his clothes were quite dismantled and baggy and he had a ring of keys hanging around his waist.

The man stroked the doll fondly like a treasure and he 'barked' and snarled at Ciel, thinking that his precious doll was stolen by the boy. Ciel sheepishly got up and took a few small steps back. "This man is not in his right state of mind." He thought. He chose to ignore the man and proceeded to go to the left corridor but the man blocked his path with his arms wide open.

"Yes?" Ciel raised an eyebrow. He composed himself to talk to the man politely; who knows? Maybe he knows where the master of the house is?

But the man did not block his way to speak to him. He wanted to get a view of the boy and the doll. He looked at the doll in his hands and at Ciel. Oh! This was the perfect, little china doll in the cellar he had worked in earlier. The china doll was out of that cage at last! Now he could play with him!

"Ih…! Doll…" The man struggled in his vocabulary. "…I like… n-nu.. dolly. Shoft and pr- pre-pri-tty… pretty…" He threw the doll away in a dismissive manner and approached to seize the already cowering boy. "Nu Dolly!!!" The man said excitedly. "My dolly!!!"

Ciel immediately sensed danger and seized the instinct to flee, but before he did so, the man gathered him up in his arms and gave him bone-crushing embrace… in a bad way. He did not find comfort in it, but harm and danger. The deranged man had thought that the boy was one of his playthings and his strength was that of an elephant's. Ciel panicked for the man's embrace was putting such force on his bones; pain was beginning to rack up on his spine and any more force would fatally break them. He began to kick and struggle; this embrace had to end, or his spine would break!

The man finally let him go, surprised that his 'doll' didn't like to play with him. He dropped Ciel, sobbing and the boy fled as fast as he could from him.

"Dolly!! My Dolly!! CII-EELLL!!!" The man called out and gave chase, thinking they were playing tag. Ciel did not look back and kept on running, panic was rising in his chest and his vision growing hazy. But he did not care and kept on running; the man ran faster and was gaining. Ciel's energy was drained fast and he could not outrun the man in his current state. Thus, he decided to hide. He ran all the way back to the bedroom where he had come from and slammed the door behind him. "I have to get away from that…that man!" He leaned on the door and looked around the room; he had to hide and stay quiet… he had to think…

…And then the four-poster bed gave him an idea. It had enough space underneath for him to hide and the hanging sheets from the mattress could conceal him well. Hoping for the best, he slid under the bed and fixed the hanging sheets to make sure he was hidden well. Now that he was down on the floor… and quite alone, he could feel the beat of his heart pounding at his ears; his almost uncontrolled breathing… and the approaching heavy footsteps of his pursuer.

"Dolly!!!" The man came bursting through the door and bawled out. "Where is YOU?!!" He surveyed the room as best as he could; behind the door, on the shelves, inside the grandfather clock, behind the paintings, and anything his tiny mind could think of. "Dolly!!! My dolly!!" He bawled and stomped in frustration. "Dolly… dolly…" He cried as he zombie-walked in grief to the door which led outside.

Ciel relaxed a bit from being fortunate in the situation. The man had failed to look underneath the bed, meaning that he had done well in blending in. But, he didn't know if he could do this hiding thing often. There might be a time where he would be found in his hiding place, so he had to be prepared; he should not be fully fatigued so that he would have enough strength to run away.

He crawled out of his hiding place and patted the dust out of his clothes. He was relieved that the ordeal was over. But he could not relax just yet…

So, back to business…

* * *

**A/n: **It's a short chapte, I know. But this introduces our first stalker. Take a good guess who he is.

So far, we have:

**Fiona Belli - **Ciel Phantomhive

**Daniella - ???**

**Debilitas - ???**

Replies:

**Chu chu banato – **Thank you! Have a tart!

**knighted lioness – **Really? There are grammatical problems? Sorry 'bout that; I'm practicing in writing in English and I'm not that good, I admit. Could you point out what part of the story had the said problems? Next time, I'll proofread. Thanks!

Thanks a bunch!


	5. Instar Ex Posterus

_**Chapter 3: Instar Ex Posterus**_

He returned to the fork road he encountered earlier and proceeded to push the box away from the door. He entered the room and was amazed at what was inside; an old laboratory of sorts with equipment that he had never seen before. The walls were interestingly covered with computations and circles that formed complicated patterns. Whoever was using this room must've been hardworking and determined to achieve his goal. As he looked closely at one of the patterns, it reminded him of alchemy; an ancient science where learned scholars seek to transmute lead into gold, or create an elixir to cure all impurities or, in a greater scale, achieve immortality.

The room was indeed ancient because of the cobwebs on the corners of the room and the chipping stone blocks on the wall. The laboratory equipment looked well-attended and neat, for it lacked the cobwebs and dust the room had. Ciel ran his fingers around the strange glass vials and apparatuses; they were something you don't see in college, especially in Chemical Engineering. The equipment must be very old, along with the manor's age. There was also a stone furnace behind the equipment table. Strangely, it was ablaze and it appeared to be heating up something in a large, metal pot. "Someone must be recently working here." He thought.

And then, there was a clay statue standing in front of a door. He frowned at it and wondered just who in their right mind would place a statue in front of the door. Maybe the owner means to tell that door is off limits? He tried to push the statue out of the doorway but it won't budge. It doesn't look that heavy…

Ciel examined the statue closely; there was a slot of sorts in its chest area. Perhaps there is something needed to insert there?

He looked around the room for something that would fit inside the statue's slot. Perhaps a plate with the right size…

… Why did that thought came to mind?

Well anyways, as he looked around the room, a note on the experimenting table caught his attention:

_A deciphering of the book of origins, Seferru Yetira, has uncovered the process for creating "life from earth-soil"._

_This Golem needs not nourishment nor sleep, making this earthen guardian the ultimate safe-keeper of our deepest alchemic secret and knowledge._

_I dub this creature,** Emeth**._

Ciel stared at this familiar piece of parchment. When he held it, there was a feeling of déjà vu in it; he felt he had seen this before but he just can't put his finger on it… He read the note once again. Then at the end of the paper, there was a hasty note:

_Upon its name shall it be put to rest…_

…The writing was familiar too.

That aside, he had to find a way to move the golem out of the way. Maybe there's another way in that right corridor. So, he exited the laboratory and proceeded to the right corridor. The corridor was full of chipped and cracked stone tiles; the chandeliers were close to the point of falling for it was dangling quite precariously and was quite rusty but still functional. But still, he had to be cautious about it.

There was a door at the end of the corridor. He entered the room and it looked completely abandoned. There were lots of cobwebs, dust and spiders. A crushed metal chandelier had acquainted itself with the floor and dust; the lamps were covered in dust though they were still dimly lit. What was curious most of all was the presence of an old-style, green typewriter on a table. It wasn't as dusty as the rest of the room. In fact, it was polished and neat along with the table it was placed on. He inspected it closely; it does look like a typewriter, but it had some parts that told that it wasn't one. There was no platen, decals, type guide, feed roller and paper fingers; in its place was a mini platform of sorts with a slot on the center, akin to the one on the golem. In general, this typewriter did not have the necessary accessories for the paper to be inserted. How was this supposed to be used?

Ciel looked closely at the small, gold embossed print on the typewriter. "Plate Presser"

Maybe this is what he needs for that golem. Or maybe not… but one try wouldn't hurt. He typed "EMETH" and pressed the key labeled "Press". He waited for something to happen and something DID happen: a plate shot out of the mini-platform and it had "EMETH" engraved on it. This machine is certainly what he needed for labeled plates. So, he tracked back to the laboratory and inserted the plate into the golem's cavity. The golem swallowed the plate as if in expectation and then, it shook. Its earthen body slowly began to crumble; the limbs, head and the rest of the statue fell off and disintegrated into heaps of dust and earth. "…Upon its name shall it be put to rest…" Ciel repeated the phrase.

…It was familiar, but strange.

Now that the door was cleared of any obstacles, Ciel entered the door and came upon a huge open area; perhaps the way to the backyard? But the area is too large for a backyard…

He crossed the floor to get to the banister which led the way down to the yard. But he was surprised to find out that the rest of the stairs leading the way down was missing. "Why do the stairs suddenly disappear halfway?" He frowned. "Just who would do this sort of thing?" He looked around the area once more for another way down; and then he caught sight of pegs. They could be ladder pegs, and they are definitely connected to a ladder. He inspected the pegs and the 'assumed' ladder it was connected to; he nodded. This was definitely the way down; perhaps the master of the manor had placed this here as an alternative way down until he could repair the broken staircase.

He climbed down the ladder with a bit of difficulty; mainly because of the boots. Kind of strange how it had heels; he really didn't need an elevation and he wasn't as comfortable walking so stiffly. But he really can't complain…

He finally got down to the assumed backyard; it was a small, grassy area with bushes and vines creeping on the walls. The vines were full of tiny, yellow bells; fireflies were floating about in the air and the grasshoppers were singing like an orchestra; thus making the area a tiny fairy park of sorts. There was also a small well at the center and some wooden benches near the walls; though the benches were situated to face to the wall. "Nobody could use it like that." Ciel thought. "This manor is very odd, but it gives the feel of a fairytale. I wish… I lived here." Though, he felt strangely at home about the whole place.

There were two doors he could go to and he had to choose. He chose the left door but it was locked, therefore offering him with no other choice but to go to the door to the right. After going through it, he came to a one way corridor and he followed it to end up in an open area with a huge closed gate. He was about to approach the gate when suddenly music flowed from a closed door before the gate. He stopped outside to listen; somebody was playing the piano and proved to be very skilled of it, judging by the flawlessness and complexity of the piece being played. He was enchanted with the melody and went through the door in an almost spellbound state. He went inside and it was indeed a music room; there were musical instruments all over the place, though some were in a gigantic and dwarf sizes. Ciel couldn't imagine people actually playing the ridiculously sized instruments, especially the dwarf-sized violins displayed in a glass case near the door.

The music was louder, more clear, more enchanting and the music was coming from above as if the player was expected to be admired like a deity. He looked up to find the player but the huge rails of balcony obstructed the view. Either way, he willingly became the player's audience. He sat on one of the chairs present in the room and listened to the music, all the while beaming up at the source of the music.

There seemed to be something covered up beside him. But it's best not to snoop about things like that…

…And the music abruptly stopped, not in a formal way though. The player had just slammed his fingers on adjacent random keys, thus making a disturbing sound. Ciel flinched.

"Ah, Ciel…" He heard the player speak in a fond tone. "You have finally awakened."

"How did you know my name?" The boy asked.

"It never matters, dear." The voice answered. "Now, I want to show you something. Pull away the sheet from that figure beside you."

Ciel looked at the covered-up thing again and wondered what it could be. He did what he was told. The sheet had covered up a life-sized, wooden figure of a heavily pregnant woman sitting on the chair. What was this for exactly?

"I made that for you to become aware of a prophecy, Ciel." The man spoke again.

"Prophecy?" Ciel continued to observe the details of the statue. It was…

"Beautiful isn't it?"

"Yes… it certainly is…" Ciel remarked, but not honestly.

"Yes. That, my dear, is what you WILL BECOME in the future!"

The boy suddenly backed away. "ME?!!" He blurted. "Ridiculous! I can't be like that! I'm…!"

The man did not listen to his protests and continued to speak. "You will be MINE, Ciel!" And the man laughed and it was very disturbing… It was the same laughter he had heard from _that _man whom he assumed had taken him in to this manor. If he combined this man and that man together, the situation would make a little bit of sense. But whatever his motives are, it surely wasn't a sane one.

Another wave of a headache pounded him and he was tired. Definitely tired. He had to find…

"Wait! Who are you?!!" He yelled at the balcony. But it seemed that the man had left already. Ciel went back to inspecting the creepy statue. Just what made that man assume that this was him? As the boy inspected the statue, he was shocked to find that it had his face; it perfectly copied his oval shaped face, nose, lips, ears, hands… all in perfect detail… but the body…

…No, it's not really him. He could NEVER get pregnant. He tried to shrug this nonsensical predicament away, but it was too disturbing to think of.

He picked up the key on the table in front of him; the key had a tag of 'Garden' on it. Perhaps this is the key that will unlock the other door in the fairy park. He didn't care what the master of the manor will say to him for getting certain things without permission. "Forget exploring the manor, I want to go home!"

* * *

**A/n: **More updates! Yayz! Thanks for **Kitty Foxglove **and **My Apple **for alerting!


	6. Phantomhive Moenia

_**Chapter 4: Phantomhive Moenia **_

Ciel returned to the fairy park and opened the left door with the Garden key. Just as he was about to go through the door, he felt a static feeling race at his arm. Now that was odd; he hadn't touched the doorknob yet. He looked around the area and he saw nothing but fireflies…

…But are they really fireflies? He stared at a firefly slowly approaching him. On second thought, maybe it isn't really a firefly. It was blue and was glowing so brightly that it surpassed a normal firefly's glow…

The firefly suddenly exploded when it made contact with him. A small scream escaped his lips and he collapsed; a great shock ran throughout his body that he felt he was being electrocuted. It died down a while later but it made his senses numb and his vision blurry. He could still see numerous blurry puffs of the blue 'fireflies' floating towards him. He had to get away, but his legs were still numb from the shock. He crawled on his stomach; dragging the rest of his body with his arms. He had to go a safe distance away from the fireflies. He crawled to the furthest corner of the area and pleaded his body to recover faster.

The fireflies were fast approaching him. There were four of them, and if the first one paralyzed him like this, what would happen to him if all four of them were to hit him? His feet were getting their feeling back, but they remained unresponsive. Ciel panicked.

Just when the fireflies were an inch from his body, they suddenly died away. They disappeared like a light from a bulb that was switched off. He stared at the air where the fireflies were before they suddenly vanished into thin air.

"What an odd bug." He muttered. "All the more reason I should get out of here fast!" He got to his feet and ran to the door.

He came to an empty corridor. There were more doors down the corridor but most of them were locked in the inside. There was this one red door that didn't have a doorknob or a keyhole. Ciel knew that anything with the color red on it was dangerous, but that's his theory about the color anyway. He just took note of the details the door had; it had an odd shaped cavity that consisted of three horizontal bars and a vertical bar intersecting the three bars in the center. Also, there was a small picture of a black, stick person just below the odd-shaped cavity. The picture resembled that of a puppet… but he wasn't sure.

"DOLLY!!!" A gleeful shout echoed the corridor.

The doll-loving menace had returned once again. Ciel jumped. "Not now…!" And he ran back to the door he had just come through. He heard a loud rumble which was almost like a boom of thunder; the menace had busted a wall from the end of the corridor with the use of his bare fists.

"CII-ELL!! Ih!!" The man yelled as he came running towards the boy. Ciel continued to run to places where his legs and mind could take him on impulse. There was absolutely no time to think of anything!

He went to the route of the music room, and he was absolutely sure he had lost his pursuer because he didn't hear his call of "Dolly!" or anything from him. But he should still hide; he went back to the demented music room once again. The sight of the wooden statue irked him out of his concentration.

"Where is YOU?!!" He heard the man call faintly.

Damn! His pursuer was fast approaching… He closed the door as quietly as possible, hoping that his pursuer will not come here to check. But still, he had to hide. He set his eyes on an idle bookcase placed on the left of the lounging chairs. The bookcase was placed near the wall, though the bookcase provided some appropriate spacing for people to walk around it. That space might be suitable for him to hide.

He sat on the floor and leaned on the bookcase. But in doing so, it emitted a creaking sound and almost tipped over. "Shoot! Be quiet!" He grabbed any groove he could get his hand in to pull the bookcase back in place.

…And there was silence; though it was not complete since Ciel could hear his heart pounding and his breathing was like that of panting dog. He was still afraid of getting caught by this man… and the other one who made that damned statue… and the one who brought him in this freakish manor… and being paralyzed by those fireflies…

There was just so much to be afraid of and it didn't do him well…

"Where is YOU?!!" A gleeful, nightmarish giggle sounded throughout the room added to the boy's fear that he was found... almost… His pursuer surveyed the room. The boy soundlessly stood up from his resting position to get ready to run anytime. But the pursuer's face suddenly appeared to his left and the boy's nerves were quickly terrified and not at all ready. "BOO!!" screamed the man in insane happiness. Ciel scampered quickly to the opposite side but the man seemed to have expected this action and jumped out to block him.

"What do I do?!" Ciel thought.

"Let'sh… p-pu-lay! Ciii-ell…!!" The man giggled and hopped about happily. But the thought of a game with him was a freakish one…

…Wait, this bookcase seems to be unstable. And his pursuer is behind it. Then, add force to the equation, then…

He ran backwards to the wall behind him to charge his momentum. Then, he kicked at his heels as hard and fast as he can and charged onto the unstable bookcase. It completely tipped over and his pursuer's yowl was enough to tell that his plan was a success. The menace seemed to have been crushed under the weight of the bookcase and its contents. Ciel curiously prowled around the man to see if he was unconscious. But unfortunately, he wasn't; the man probably got angry and seemed to snap and snarl at him. Ciel quickly dashed to the way out and locked the door.

"A bookcase isn't enough to stop this thing!" Ciel panted. "I must… I must get away… at all… costs…" He refused the temptation to rest and dragged his body to run back to his destination and examine everything closely. But he had to work more quickly…

He went back to the corridor with the red door. And this time, he examined all the other doors a second time. Luckily, the beautiful maid came out from one of the locked doors he had passed by.

"Ah… Uhm… excuse me!" He called out.

The maid turned and faced him. Ciel approached her to start the conversation.

"Could… could…y…you…tell me where…the master of the… house… is?" He asked in a flustered face. It was embarrassing asking a person when you're completely exhausted, sore and breathless altogether. But the maid, instead of answering, turned her back at him and walked away; ignoring him altogether. He couldn't believe it! "Did I displease her? Definitely…" Of course he did; he panted like a dog!

Anyways, she had left the door open. At least she had helped a bit. He went inside the room and was surprised to find out that he had ended up in the kitchen! "This manor is very odd! The rooms are not in sync with each other… perhaps the rooms do not really matter where they are placed…" He thought.

He took a step and that action made his balance wobble in and out; dizziness was also starting to kick in. This is bad… "…Urghh… enough thinking… I feel faint…" He looked around the kitchen; the area was simple and handy. There were wide and long table tops and the cabinets were conveniently placed just above the stove. Also, the place was neat and clean… well, save for the chopped up meat left on the table top. The maid must have been preparing food when she was probably called to go to somewhere.

Oddly enough, the meat was giving off a strong, foul odor. The smell made him more dizzy and tired…

"DOLLY!!!" His deranged pursuer shot out from behind the table top. The boy almost had a heart attack and fell to the floor. Exactly how his pursuer recovered from the music room, he didn't have the ounce to know. He dashed out to the open door and ran as fast as his already sore body could take him. The doors that were previously locked were suddenly open, but he did not care anymore and just entered into one of them and kept on running.

It was getting darker; thunder was beginning to growl; the manor seemed to be getting larger. Ciel ultimately did not know where he had ended up, but he could not stop running; his heart would seem to burst any minute; his breath in loud vacuuming gasps; and his completely sore and sweat-drenched body has been worked out to its critical limit. His pursuer seemed to be getting happier and happier and never seemed to tire.

Ciel's ankle sprained when he took off running after he had tripped from a stone step. Now that he apparently slowed down, his pursuer was as happy as ever. Though, he seemed tired as well.

"Play…no more…" The man growled. The flash of lightning outside illuminated his furious magenta eyes. "Dolly… come…COME!!!" He reached out his hands to grab him. But Ciel still forced his weak little body to crawl away… far and away…

At this time, the man got angry and picked him up by his vest. Lifting the boy up, he said, "Dolly… BAD! P-pu-PUNISH!!"

"HELP!!!" Ciel screamed.

"EXIRE' PLUTO!!!" An angry voice loudly echoed throughout the area, defeating the volume of the harsh rain that had started pouring outside. In an instant, the man let go of the boy and instantly fled.

Ciel remained motionless on the floor, too tired and sore to move.

"I'm dreadfully sorry, young master."

Wait, this voice…

"Are you alright?"

No… it isn't…

"Let me help you up…" An arm levered his body off the floor and the other arm gently guided him to stand up. But he couldn't, so he remained in the stranger's arms. "I am Ash, the castle's keeper. You are safe now."

"M-my parents…" Ciel asked weakly; his eyes were blurry and he did not have the thought of looking at the stranger's face or anywhere to help him identify his savior. What mattered was that he was safe. "Where are they…?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, his savior finally answered, "I'm sorry to say that Master Vincent and Mistress Rachel are now deceased."

"Dead…?" The boy repeated in a whisper.

The man continued on. "You, Ciel Phantomhive, are the sole heir of Phantomhive Castle and all its estates. Upon the circumstances, you have just gained possession of the dowry."

"Castle…?" The boy repeated unconsciously. And then, his nightmare invaded his mind once more… the accident, the screams, the laughter, his father's death… the prophecy… his mind couldn't take all the events at once. The thoughts of everything ran through his head; questions were answered but more and more questions formed and his headache and fatigue consumed his consciousness altogether. He then sagged limp into the man's arms.

"You've had a long day." said the man as he lifted the boy up in his arms. "Your bed has been prepared." He said in a soothing voice as he made his way back to the new lord's bedroom.

* * *

**A/n: **I introduced the pesky Luminessants! Right! So far we have:

**Fiona Belli - **Ciel Phantomhive

**Debilitas - **Pluto (though I admit that I put in some of Finny qualities in him; the strength and the eyes as the mix)

**Riccardo - **Ash (I'll explain! But wait for the right time 'kay?)

Next up: Ciel will get a dog, similar to what happens to Fiona when she finds Hewie. Now guess who will Ciel find!

Replies:

**chu chu banato! **– Ermm… no, it's not Sebby. Keep guessing who wants to impregnate Ciel. Thanks a lot; now have another tart!


	7. Precious Sebastien

_**Chapter 5: Precious Sebastien **_

_It was midnight and they were following the road closely and carefully…_

…_Another car bumped them as if on purpose…_

_Their car crashed into a pile of abandoned lumber…_

…_Mother's neck had snapped…The glass punctured her eyes…_

…_Father was impaled by a dagger…_

_A man peeked by the window… and laughed… He stroked his body fondly…_

"_You are mine. I OWN YOU." He whispered to his ear…_

* * *

Ciel's eyes flew open and a small gasp escaped his lips. The whisper disturbed him all the more for the voice was exactly the same one who had told him about the prophecy…

… And he was lying on a bed. Thankfully, he was still wearing the same clothes. His boots were removed and placed on the floor next to his bed. He sat up, but by doing so, his body ached. He squeaked in pain and chose to move slowly. He observed his surroundings; he was back in the bedroom. How exactly did he get here…? Oh, that's right. He fainted into the man's arms and he must've carried him all the way back here. The boy's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment; the man had held him like a helpless damsel. What was the man's name again? "The castle's keeper… And I thought it was father who had saved me…"

…Wait... castle! Father!

Ash's words echoed in his head, "The sole heir of… Phantomhive castle…?! I… I never knew…!" Then tears welled up on his eyes, not because of happiness but of grief. "This cannot be true… My parents are… dead. This has to be a dream… this has to be…" He lied back on his bed, crying. He felt so lonely, and he hadn't thought that he would be facing his whole life alone this soon. He remembered the day where they happily decided to take a vacation to the countryside; they laughed almost endlessly, time was happily wasted without a care; he had loved his father and mother's smile, especially his father's.

More memories of his family flooded back to his mind. Tears continued to stream down his face as he felt an unrequited nostalgia. The whole castle was his and he was searching for himself all this time. But he did not feel at home for the moment…

… And then he heard a choked howl thus, interrupting his reminiscing. His curiosity piqued. The howl sounded again. He went out of bed and after putting his boots on, he went to the window in the receiving area and looked closely at the outdoor lounge. A huge, black creature was lying on its side and was motionless. Then, it made another howl. The howl was pitiful and it moved the boy into running by its side to help. Ciel went outside to the outdoor lounge. He went to the creature's side and was shocked at the sight of barbed wire choking its neck. "Just what kind of person would do this?!" The creature whimpered but when Ciel moved closer to it, it began to growl.

"I won't harm you…" Ciel told it gently, but it continued to threaten him with growls and barks. The boy ignored the angry creature's glare and threats and pried his fingers into the wire. He worked the wire out of the creature's neck while in doing the job, his fingers were punctured by the sharp bits of wire and blood caked his fingers. Even though the creature thrashed around and attempted to bite him, he must endure the pain for this dog's sake.

After a painful struggle, he had successfully removed the wire from the dog's neck. The dog immediately jumped to its feet and shook its black fur. "Go. And don't get caught this time." Ciel told it. The dog looked at him with its piercing red eyes for a moment and passed by him. It jogged a distance away from him but it suddenly slowed down to glance back at the boy. It stopped trotting altogether and gave him a look once again as if he was hesitant to leave.

Ciel smiled. "Go." He said gently, and the dog started trotting away.

And all of a sudden, the boy felt lonely again. He was still worried about that dog. "I hope you'll find your way out." He muttered. He walked back to his room to go to bed. He didn't feel like going anywhere.

* * *

He walked back to his room in a lazy daze; swinging his heels about as he walked. There was just nothing to do... nothing to keep himself occupied.

"Doll…!" came a gruff voice. Ciel instantly froze on the spot at the sight of his doll-loving pursuer sitting on his bed. "Dolly!!!" He growled and jumped from the bed. He was still angry at his dolly for running away from him when he tried to get him for bedtime. He stared at the cowering boy in raging eyes. "PUNISH!!!"

Ciel began to run away on impulse but Pluto grabbed him by his coat tails and dragged him back, causing him to vulnerably sprawl on the floor. The boy instantly moved to stand up but the man aimed a kick at his stomach when he was still in an all-fours position. The blow was extremely painful and he writhed in the floor in pain. And then he was kicked again, and this one was more painful than the last. Pluto had kicked him hard like a soccer ball; he literally flew across the room and slammed to the wall. He was struck stunned and he definitely felt his head and spine crack right there. Blood had stained the wall and the grandfather clock crashed to the floor, causing Ciel's legs to be crushed under the weight of the clock. The boy remained stunned and motionless; his eyes remained half-lidded and nonchalant. His body seemed oblivious to the bursting pain it was already under and his senses remained numb and unresponsive.

Pluto was not satisfied and roared. He ran after the boy for another kick but he stopped when he heard a bark.

"WHUF! WHUF!!!" It was a huge black dog. The man stared at it in curiosity. Ciel struggled to speak. "H…h…elp… M…m-e…!" He gasped.

The dog growled and crouched threateningly at Pluto. The animal was grateful for Ciel for saving him from the point of death, and he returned to return the favor. The animal then launched himself to the man like a vicious dart and started biting his hand. Pluto yowled and fought back but the dog was more agile and quick. The dog somehow performed a graceful somersault back to avoid his attacks. Pluto growled in frustration and did every attack he knew at the creature, but the animal remained unharmed. Ciel watched the fight, astonished at how the dog he had saved fought so skillfully and… perfectly.

The dog sprang up to the man's neck and started biting it. Despite Pluto's thrashings, he remained latched onto him and continued to bite; blood was sprinkling down the floor and the room echoed with the man's screams of pain. After an agonizing minute, the dog finally let go of the him and somersaulted back to the floor. The hound prowled in front of Ciel and stayed there; its ears laid back, leered its vicious red eyes, bared its canines and snarled at the man. The animal acted like a vicious barrier between Ciel and the pursuer. Pluto got the message and fled the room, limping and staggering from the beast's attacks.

Now that the man was gone, the dog calmed down until his scent was outside its range. The animal faced the boy and sat down beside him.

"Y…you saved me…" Ciel whispered. "Thank… you…"

The dog wagged his tail and licked him. He also nudged its nose at the boy and happily barked; proud of being acknowledged by his performance. Ciel reached out to pat its furry head.

"What's your… name…?" Ciel asked, even though he knew that the dog could not talk. The dog, of course remained silent and stared at him.

Somebody was coming in the room. Both could feel the approaching footsteps that vibrated on the floor. The dog instantly fled to hide under the bed.

"Lord Ciel!" Ash came bursting from the door. Upon seeing Ciel and the damage the confrontation caused, he was enraged "That Pluto! I shall get rid of him at once!" He pushed away the broken grandfather clock from the boy's legs. "I'll request Angela to fetch a bottle of Fortis for you. Don't worry." And once again, he gathered up the injured boy in his arms and put him on the bed. He said in an assuring voice. "Nothing will harm you now."

"Dad…?" Ciel, still in a daze, had thought once again that his father was speaking to him… caring for him… he could not look at his face because of his numbed senses. The bed's soft mattress and covers did him a good recovery…

… And Ash's soothing voice comforted him even more. "Good night, Ciel…"

The boy smiled weakly as his vision faded to black. Ash laughed softly and stroked his lord's beautiful face.

"Sweet dreams." He whispered to his ear and gently ran his fingers through the boy's hair, down to his face and the rest of his body. Ash laughed fondly as he caressed the smooth and soft body of the boy.

Meanwhile, the dog hid under the bed, witnessing the scene he could only hear. He believed his senses that the boy was in danger but he kept to himself the impulse to growl. He didn't want to be choked to death again by this man. The animal settled himself under the bed's refuge and slept; he knew that his fur was made to blend well in the shadows.

_"My name is Sebastien. Now that I have returned the favor, you should get out of here."_

* * *

**A/n: **So far, we have:

**Fiona Belli - **Ciel Phantomhive

**Ugo Belli - **Vincent Phatomhive

**Ayla Belli - **Rachel Phantomhive

**Hewie - **Sebastian (just call him Sebastien, for now. There is a reason why his name has a different spelling. You'll know it soon, I promise!)

**Debilitas - **Pluto

**Daniella - **Angela (Here, I'm giving it out just in case you haven't taken the hint yet.)

**Riccardo - **Ash

Just wait around for a little more, guys. Oh and by the way, since exams are coming close, I won't be able to write some chapters for a while. I've got a few chapters ready for uploading, but until my exams are over, I won't be posting them. So, maybe I'll be gone for... a month maybe. (Yes, it's a LOOONNGG way.)

CielXSeb fans you have to wait. For now, it's CielXAsh because that is essential here. But Sebastian will still remain possesive, I know right? :D

Replies:

**LovelyWickedDescet – **Nice guess! Now keep guessing the rest of them! (:D) Don't worry I'll appreciate it if you give an idea:) Well, I've never played Haunting Ground since I don't have a PS2 or the game, but judging by the playthroughs I've seen in Youtube, maybe the game's fun. But you have to keep freaking out to keep Fiona from getting killed. Thanks for reading, now have a tart!

**Yana5 – **The Undertaker as Hewie (is that what you meant?)… (:D) No, he isn't! But keep guessing. Have a tart!

**chu chu banato! **– If you know Haunting Ground already, Riccardo is the one who wants to impregnate Fiona. So, correct. Ash is equivalent to Riccardo here. Like I said, there is a twist in my story so, there are more interactions between Ciel and the 'soon-to-be' stalkers.


	8. Canis Palaestra

_**Chapter 6: Canis Palaestra**_

"_Wake up… up…" _The black hound licked the boy's face in anticipation. Eventually, Ciel's consciousness returned when he felt hot saliva slapping on his face. The dog barked happily when the boy stirred and groaned. The dog became happier when the boy opened his blue eyes and noticed the animal immediately.

"Oh…" He gasped. "Th-thank you!"

The dog wagged its tail. Ciel slowly got up from bed and the dog continued to beam up at him. "I'm wondering…" The boy knelt down to the dog's eye level. "What's your name? Your eyes are familiar…"

And suddenly the dog jumped at him. Ciel yelped as he was knocked down to the floor. "Oof! Well really…!" The dog seemed to have playfully knocked him down. "Let me up, boy!"

The dog barked and got off. Ciel laughed as he stroked the dog's fur…

… And the incident in the dark butcher's shop came to the boy's mind. Before he escaped the place, an animal leaped on him…

"S-sebastien…" he whispered as he remembered the strange nameplate he had stepped on. The dog's ears immediately flipped up in the sound of its name.

"Sebastien." Ciel repeated the name, more clear and loud. The dog barked and bounded up to him. "So you're Sebastien!" he said and gave the dog an embrace. "Well, hi Sebastien!"

Sebastien barked happily. Ciel continued to laugh as he embraced the animal. At last, he didn't feel alone anymore.

"You must be hungry." The boy glanced around a bit and saw a plate of food placed on the bedside table. He looked at the food and guessed that it was meant for him. The dish consisted of steak with gravy, asparagus and potatoes. But he didn't feel hungry at the moment or the appetite to do so. He placed the plate in front of the dog and Sebastien started devouring the meal immediately. Ciel watched him eagerly chomp down the meal for a while and then, he put on his boots and practiced walking around.

In a matter of minutes, Sebastian had finished his meal. "Let's play fetch!" Ciel called out to him as he ran to the door leading to the grounds.

"_Play fetch?! Seriously?! After getting beat-up by some mad person, you'll play fetch? Aren't you worried that he might come and hurt you again? Shouldn't you be running away instead?! Don't leave yourself defenseless just because I'm around!"_

"Sebastien!" Ciel called again. Sebastien barked in response. _"Fine, fine… Coming…"_

* * *

Ciel is an animal-lover, especially dogs. That is probably the reason why he decided to bond with and treat Sebastien like a pet, immediately. Though Ciel noted that he could not figure out what the dog's breed is. He could be an Alaskan Klee Kai or a Shepherd Dog or maybe a mix of both. But Sebastien was not just any ordinary canine. He was a wolf; a black wolf to be exact. Unlike the common wolves which are grey, white or red in fur color, Sebastien had jet black fur and scientists have explained that the black fur color resulted from mutation of breeding a wolf-dog hybrid. But he wasn't a hybrid at all; he IS a pure wolf, and that fact had made Sebastien bear a great pride about himself.

"Fetch!"

Sebastien refused to fetch the bright yellow ball that the boy threw. He simply refused to play like silly like what domesticated dogs do.

"Come on, boy. Fetch!"

"_No."_ The wolf was disappointed since his companion didn't view him as a wolf. The boy had thought that he was an ordinary stray dog of sorts.

Ciel sighed. He seemed to be the one playing fetch since every time he threw the ball, he would run and pick it up again because of Sebastien's refusal to cooperate. He fetched the ball and threw it again. "Sebastien, fetch!" The wolf just sat and yawned.

"Sebastien!" The boy put his hands on his hips and directed his eyes to the animal in a serious stare. "Fetch!"

Sebastien stared back.

"Fetch!" Ciel repeated in a commanding tone and pointed his hand to the ball's direction. But still, the wolf remained stubborn.

At this point, Ciel had already ran his patience thin of playing fetch by himself for almost an hour. This time, he approached the animal and repeated his command in a firm and cold voice. "Fetch."

Sebastien stared.

"Fetch!" He bellowed with a glare in his eyes. "THAT IS AN ORDER!"

This time, Sebastien stopped being stubborn and obeyed the command. He quickly darted towards the ball like a black arrow and returned to Ciel in the same speed. Seeing the hound's immediate progress, the boy picked up the ball and threw it again. Their game continued on; Ciel didn't have to say "Fetch" and Sebastien seemed to run to the direction the ball was heading to even if Ciel hadn't thrown it yet. When the boy was satisfied and his temper had calmed down, he patted the wolf's head and embraced him tightly. "Good boy!" The boy's eyes and mood instantly changed from a domineering dictator to a lighthearted and cheerful child.

"_Such an interesting show of authority." _Sebastien thought amidst the boy's affection. _"Ciel has an interesting beauty when he displays his rage."_

"You're quite a stubborn dog, aren't you?" Ciel tapped the dog's head playfully. "Don't make me do something that harsh again."

Sebastien snorted.

"Okay, Sebastien." Ciel bobbed cheerfully. "I'll teach you some tricks I know."

"_Enough with this childishness, please…" _Sebastien thought dryly. But sad to say… or, howl about it in his case, his companion WAS a child.

"Sebastien, play dead!"

Fortunately, Sebastien knew the trick already. He lied down on his side and did not move or twitch; not even display any signs of his breathing. Ciel was impressed and told him to stop.

"Ok… so how about… Roll over...!"

Sebastien rolled on the ground.

"Shake?" Ciel extended his palm to him. Sebastien put his front paw accordingly.

"Eh…Sing…?" Ciel grinned mischievously. "I'm sure you can't do…"

Then Sebastien howled in various tones; he sang "London Bridge is Falling Down". The boy's grin faded and stared at the wolf in amazement. "I… I was just kidding, Sebastien. B-but… that's nice really."

Sebastien barked. _"Did you really think that I can't sing?" _He thought smugly.

The boy thought for a moment. If Sebastien already knew most of the tricks people teach to pets, probably somebody owned Sebastien already. But who is or was the owner of this dog?

His thoughts were interrupted when the dog nudged his nose at his arm. "Okay, enough playing." Ciel said. "Let's go for a walk."

* * *

Ciel decided to explore the castle more. Even if Ash's revelation to him that the whole castle was his, the message had a hard time to sink in to the boy's mind. He couldn't keep his overflowing curiosity go unanswered. Now that he had company, his exploration would surely be a thrilling one. "Sebastien, let's go!"

He went to the area after the first flight of stairs that led to the porch. This was the area that he had noticed when he was still wearing the silk sheet. Now that he was fully clothed and unoccupied of schedule, he ventured the area. He was about to consider the area as a plain extension when he heard the creaking sound of a swinging metal gate. He wheeled around to the direction of the sound; the metal gate was at the furthest corner of the area and, seeing that the gate led to another place, he entered through it.

The next place didn't have anything interesting to see, except for the high, looming stone walls of the castle being pronounced; and the huge pile of crumbled rocks and rubble in the place. Ciel continued on the path, but he was startled by Sebastien's sudden barking. "What is it, boy?"

Sebastien barked at the rubble; apparently, he seemed to be barking at something placed at the very top of the pile of rubble. Ciel looked up at the rubble, but he just couldn't see what was there to be aware of. "Might as well check…" He flexed his arms and legs before he started scaling the pile of rubble. As he progressed on, he managed to see the thing on the peak; it was a marionette of sorts. But he was just halfway through when he failed to grasp firmly on a narrow handhold; as a result, he roughly slid down the pile and landed ungraciously on the ground. "Shoot! And I'm already halfway…!"

Why was there a marionette on top of the rubble? Anyways, he had to get that thing no matter what so that he could think of an answer.

And then an idea popped into his head. "Sebastien." He pointed to the peak of the rubble. "Fetch!"

Sebastien ignored the command and decided to lie on the ground like a sphinx. _"What use is there to get that thing anyway?"_

"Come on, Sebastien." Ciel pleaded. "Fetch!" But the animal remained unresponsive.

"Sebastien!" The boy scolded with hands on his hips. "I said, fetch!"

The wolf continued to ignore him. Not because he didn't want to be ordered around like a trained dog; he was interested to see the boy's enraged face once again. Sebastien had a slightly sadistic streak in him that he liked to see humans angry and enraged. Probably the reason was, he didn't have anything to fear about or view something of great importance or give a reason why he should. Things just come and go and if he held on to something, he would just lose it in the end.

"Fetch!" Ciel repeated. But the wolf continued to ignore him. "If he obeyed my command because I was 'like that', then…"

"SEBASTIEN!" He shouted and glared at the wolf. Sebastien slightly rose up from his position and amusingly looked at the boy's angry face. "DIDN'T I SAY, FETCH?!!" Ciel sharply pointed at the top of the rubble. Sebastien barked in response. The wolf leaped on the pile and scaled it with gracious ease. When he reached the peak, he grabbed the item with his teeth and returned to the boy with a single jump from the top. He deposited the item at Ciel's feet and wagged his tail.

"Good boy." The boy calmed and rewarded the dog with another stroke by the head. "But is that how you really want to treated?"

Sebastien's tail stopped wagging. Probably the question rang inside his mind again and again…

Ciel examined the marionette closely but he realized that it didn't have anything special to do with anything. "Come on, let's go." He said to Sebastien as he went his way back to his room.

* * *

**A/n: **Huge flood in my country. The power and phone lines went out for a day in my place, so there's a slight delay in posting. Sebastian playing fetch. Now that's fun!

Replies:

**Yana5 – **Yup, it's Ash. Have a tart! (:D)

**chu chu banato – **Haunting Ground is a survival horror game for PS2, made by Capcom. If you want to know more about it, search it in Wikipedia or you can watch the game's playthroughs in Youtube (watch them from **louischou **and **katrinonus**)**. **I can't type out the game's plot here to avoid spoilers. Thanks for reading!

Thank you for **Sabbe-chan**, **xXxEisblumexXx**, **Heart of a Crescent**, and **chaos-winged-valkyrie **for alerting! Many thanks!


	9. Phone's Incertus Orbis

_**Chapter 7: Phone's Incertus Orbis**_

"Ah! THAT room!" Ciel suddenly exclaimed and clapped while he was walking up the stairs to the porch. "That red door!" Then he continued his way up to his room. As soon as he entered the door, he saw a man fiddling with the TV on top of the customized credenza. Ciel froze and thought to flee as quiet as possible; the man had white hair and that attribute alone was enough for the boy to be alert of his pursuer. "Uh-oh… Pluto…"

Sebastien began to growl and this brought the man's attention to them. Ciel frowned a bit at Pluto's appearance; his hair was curly and well-groomed; his eyes were calm and relaxed and they were lavender in color; his face was smooth and angelic; his clothes were all white starting from his shirt down to his shoes, though the vest underneath the coat was a light purple; there was also a silver chain trailing from his pants pocket up to the lowest pocket of his vest. All in all, this new Pluto looked more attractive and civilized. But Ciel knew better than to be deceived by appearance. He broke into a run to escape but the man had quickly seized his hand. "Help!" He yelled.

But the man did not say "dolly" or giggle in a demented manner. Instead, he talked in a silky and civilized voice. "Is something troubling you, young master?"

Ciel's heart raced and started panicking. "Let go of me!"

But the man did not let go of him. Instead, he pulled the boy close to him as if in embrace and placed his free arm on the boy's back. "Don't you remember me?"

Ciel stared at the man's face and blushed. Mainly because he had recognized the man who had saved him twice from injury; also his blush deepened because of the way the man had held him close and how their bodies were too close to each other. But still, the boy found it hard to pull away since he felt comfortable and safe. "N-no… I don't t-think so…" Ciel stuttered.

"I understand since you were slipping out of consciousness on both circumstances." The man chuckled lightly. "Let me introduce myself once again, I am Ash, the castle's keeper."

"Keeper?" Ciel whispered. "Oh! I remember now! I-it's you!… I'm sorry!"

"Why should the young master say sorry, I wonder?" Ash chuckled softly. Ciel blushed harder and mentally kicked himself in shame. "I… I thought you were Pluto." He answered.

"I understand, since we may have a resemblance when we are viewed from behind." Said Ash and released the boy from his hold. "And about Pluto; forgive me, young master but I could not seem to find him around the place. He might come after you unawares and I'm getting worried."

"Ermm… that's alright." Ciel said. Thankfully, his blush was starting to fade and he was now comfortable with talking to the man. But when Ash's eyes scanned him from head to foot, his blush returned once more.

"You're quite a mess, young master."

Ciel consciously looked at his already stained clothes and started to pat and wipe away the dirt on the clothes. "Ermm… sorry…"

Ash sighed a bit and brought out a lavender scented white handkerchief. "It's not recommended for you to get stained by unnecessary filth." He said as he began to wipe the boy's face gently. Ciel blushed harder now that Ash's face was much closer to him. Sebastien kept his eyes grudgingly locked on the man.

"There. Now you're much better to look at." Ash said as he finished wiping away the grime from the boy's face. Then, he held Ciel's hand and placed the handkerchief neatly on his palm. "Just in case you might need this, please take it and use it to satisfy your needs."

"Ah, but…" Ciel protested but was silenced when Ash knelt before him on one knee. "I am your servant, young master and I only wish your good well-being. So please accept my offer, I humbly ask of you."

"Th-thanks…" The boy mumbled. He wasn't used to be treated highly like this but he felt contently better that he was well-cared of. "I'll take care of it! But…please stand up…"

Ash noticed the boy's behavior. "Did I put you in unnecessary unease?"

"A-a… a bit…" Ciel put the handkerchief inside his shorts pocket. "You don't have to do that…"

"But this is customary, young master." Said Ash as he stood up. "As you servant, I must pay you due respect."

"But a simple bow is enough. That's all, I ask… please…"

"If that's what you wish." Ash bowed along with a charming smile directed at the boy. "A bow, then."

What intrigued Ciel was the fact that he seemed to have been captivated by the man through his charms and actions. This was the first time that somebody had him stirred up and conscious of appearance and flustered in sight… although, the feeling was quite familiar. But nevertheless, the infatuation bothered him. Homosexuality wasn't quite accepted in society… or maybe by the world at most. But maybe he was just thinking too far ahead or even exaggerating or implicitly assuming…

"What were you doing with that TV anyway?" Ciel asked all of a sudden to interrupt himself in his pondering session.

"I'm repairing the whole thing." Ash answered. "Its whole mechanism inside had malfunctioned many years ago and I left it unattended. I thought you might need this to occupy your spare time."

"Ah, no. That's alright. I don't watch TV that much anyway. And besides, the entire castle is interesting enough for me to be occupied."

Ash withdrew the tools that were placed around the TV. "If that is so, then."

Ciel noticed that Sebastien continued to growl at the man while they were speaking. "Sebastien!" The boy scolded in a firm voice and a slight glare. The wolf's response was immediate however, his ears remained laid-back and his tail was hanging straight, parallel to the floor; meaning that his suspicion remained at the man.

"Ah." Ash looked at the hound. "I see you've acquainted yourself with that beast, young master."

Ciel blushed once more. Why was he reacting like this? WHY?!!

"And it appears that you have done well in domesticating him." Ash continued as he looked at the wolf. "Wolves are proud and stubborn creatures and would prefer assertive dominance than a kind and gentle assurance. And from what I have learned, wolves are very difficult to tame since they originated from the wild…"

"Wait…" Ciel's eyes widened in shock and looked at Sebastien. "A wolf?! Are you saying that I have tamed a wolf?!"

"Of course." Ash nodded. "See his eyes and his mane? They are different from the common canine, indeed."

"Come here." Ciel called Sebastien to his side and knelt down to him until they were both leveled eye-to-eye. "So, you're a wolf then? No wonder you're so hard-headed."

Sebastien snorted in disappointment. _"And you just noticed that? You're a bit slow, aren't you?"_

"The young master must be a talented tamer, I wonder." Ash hinted. "Despite me having ownership of that hound, you, on the other hand, were able to domesticate him."

"He is yours?"

"Yes. But since he now obeys your command, you have just won his trust in you." Ash said. "I resign my ownership of him; he is now yours."

"But…"

"My own pet doesn't trust me, so why should I still have him? Trust is the most important thing that forges a bond. You are the one he trusts most. So you should definitely have ownership of him."

"Well…" Ciel demurely looked at Sebastien. "Would you mind?"

Ash remained silent for a while. "No. I assure you I won't."

Ciel embraced the wolf tightly. Then, another round of silence prevailed.

"I'm interested at how you had domesticated that beast." Ash said. "I had acquired him a few months ago and he simply refuses to obey every command I issue. He is a very wild creature as you can see and prefers to follow his own will."

"He definitely is." Ciel said. "Well, to be honest I kind of threatened him into obeying my commands…"

"Would you specify how?" Ash curiously asked. Ciel blushed a deeper shade of red.

"I…I would glare at him… and let my temper get the best of me." The boy rubbed his arm demurely. "You might not want to see that…"

"Really?" Ash laughed. "The young master seems to be a gentle natured sort, it seems. Now, I wonder what the young master looks like when he displays his rage…" He brought his hand to his chin and made a thoughtful face. "I have tried displaying my anger to the hound many times, but still he refuses to obey me."

Ciel's face was very red.

"Perhaps your face fascinates the hound more than anything."

"_Of course, since his face is more pleasing to look at, compared to you."_ Sebastien commented.

"Ah… uhmm…" Ciel stammered. The conversation was becoming awkward. All the more, his heart raced as if he was panicking.

"Well that must be true. Since…" Ash approached the boy and ran his hand through the hair that framed the boy's face. "The young master has such a beautiful face. All the more is that beauty intensified when he displays his expressions."

"Mmmn… S-stop…" Ciel gently pried away the hand that had started caressing his face. "Do I… r-really…?"

Ash bent closer and whispered to his ear. "Most definitely."

Sebastien grew annoyed and tugged hard at Ciel's coat-tail. That action caused Ciel to be dragged away by the wolf quite rudely. "Sebastien!" The boy protested but the wolf continued to drag him away from Ash. _"We have something to attend to besides flirting to one another. Now move it, Ciel!" _The wolf thought as he continued to drag the boy up to the bedroom door; he didn't care if he was already dragging the boy on the floor.

"Sebastien, stop!" Ciel scolded and pried his coat tail away from the wolf's teeth. "What's gotten into you, boy? Excited to go?"

"_Of course! I'm excited to get you away from that man with all costs! He's seducing you for Pete's sake!!!"_ Sebastien tugged his coat-tail once again.

"Ok, ok!" Ciel said in resign. "See you, Sir Ash!" He said with one last glance at the castle keeper and then, let himself get dragged by the irritated wolf.

Ash couldn't resist a chuckle. "Ah, how adorable you are, Ciel…" He said to himself.

* * *

Ciel returned to the strange red door after passing through the fairy park. He examined the strange cavity again and compared it to the marionette he retrieved outside the castle earlier. The marionette's control handle and the cavity on the door matched perfectly. "Perhaps this is the key to this door?" He examined the door further and noticed the picture of a black stick figure below the odd-shaped cavity. The black stick figure matched the marionette's shape although in miniscule size. "Definitely..." He inserted the marionette's handle into the cavity like a key. The handle sagged into the cavity until it dragged the marionette to the picture's level. Then, Ciel heard a click and the door mechanically swung open.

"What an odd way to make a door open with a marionette don't you think, Sebastien?" Ciel said. "You know what? Sometimes this castle has a lot of nonsensical things around. But that's what makes this place interesting…!"

"_Hey, hey…"_

Ciel entered the room but he didn't feel comfortable with the way the room was decorated and lighted. The room was bathed in dim red light and the feel was quite hellish and demented. Also, the most disturbing thing of all were the numerous figures of dolls and marionettes hung up around the walls; wooden puppets, stuffed dolls, china dolls, antique dolls, bisque dolls, metallic puppets and just every kind of dolls and puppets that Ciel haven't seen before. Some of the dolls were in perfect condition and others were, disturbingly, stabbed with knives, daggers and nails as if they were there for target practice. Also, some of the puppets were also dismantled and most of their parts were connected in the wrong places; like, the neck should be connected with the head and not the leg and the like.

"I don't like this place. Maybe this is Pluto's exhibit of sorts…" Ciel said as he ran his hand at a nearby antique doll hanging on the wall. He took a look at the wooden gate of sorts in front of him and wondered why that was there. There was a corridor leading to the other side of the room, though. So why is there a need of a gate to be able to see the other side of the room? "Sebastien, let's go!"

The pair followed the corridor until Ciel noticed the red rug inconveniently placed on the floor. "What's this doing here?"

And then, Sebastien started to growl; his leering red eyes glared hard at the wall without any dolls or puppets hanging on it. Instead, the wall adorned what seemed to be a set of closed, bulging, silver eyeballs in varying sizes. The eyeballs looked so real that it could open any second. "What's wrong?" Ciel asked. But he shook his head a while later upon realizing that the wolf could not talk.

"_Don't go there!!! It's DANGEROUS!!!" _Sebastien began to bark furiously when Ciel stepped his foot on the red rug. The wolf began to pull at the boy's tail coat again for good measure to show his definite disagreement with Ciel's actions. Ciel grew irritated at the wolf's habitual pulling. "Now that's enough pulling there, Se- !"

Ciel stopped speaking abruptly when a couple of darts went whizzing across his face. He froze in shock as he saw the darts stick dangerously on the exhibit of dolls opposite the eyeballs. "A trap?!" He immediately backed away from the rug's range. If he had crossed the carpeted area just like that, the eyeballs would send darts raining on his body and he didn't want that to happen.

…Maybe if he crossed fast enough for the eyeballs not to sense his presence. He decided to test his theory by throwing a doll across the red rug. So, he picked off a wooden doll from the walls and threw it across the rug. But shockingly, the eyeballs were as quick as lightning to sense the object and shot a rain of darts at the doll before it had crossed the other side. Well in fact, the doll didn't even manage to cross the carpeted area; instead, the doll had been pinned mercilessly to the wall, thus joining it with the exhibit of strange dolls.

"Perhaps this rug is hiding a sensor underneath." Ciel thought. "But isn't there any other…"

Then the wooden gate came to mind. Perhaps it was there as an alternative route to avoid the trap. He ran back to the gate and anticipated a handle for it to be opened. But unfortunately, there wasn't any. The gate seemed to act like a barrier from getting across the room safely.

"Now what?" He leaned his face through the wooden bars to get a view of something at the other side of the gate. The object seemed to be a circuit breaker of some sorts, but he wasn't sure judging by his limited point of view.

Sebastien began to bark at him. Ciel broke out of his trance. "It seems like I have to depend on you a lot, huh?" He said as he rewarded the wolf with another affectionate rub on the head. "Do you know another way out?"

"_Follow me!" _The wolf barked as if in response. Then the animal quickly ran out to the door where they had entered. Ciel followed him until they came upon a small alcove at the beginning of the hallway. "What about it?"

Sebastien entered the small alcove and sat on an embossed tile. The tile sank like a button upon the wolf's weight and from their position, they heard a sound of gears at work. "Stay!" Ciel commanded him and went off to investigate the sound's source. He went back to the doll exhibit room immediately and found that the wooden gate had been lifted off from its position before. Now that the gate was away, he could see the circuit breaker at the other side of the room. "If I switched the electricity off here, maybe that trap would not be able to work now!" Having thought that, he quickly crossed the room and lifted the lever on the circuit breaker. Immediately, the lights that illuminated the room went completely off thus, signaling that the electricity was now not surging through anything.

"Now this room's finally safe… I think?" Ciel summoned Sebastien to his side; the gate began to sink down back to its original place, but it didn't matter. And since Sebastien was able to cross safely from the eye-trap, that meant that the area was safe for good. "Good boy! But… was it me or, were you easier to command just now?"

Sebastien tilted his head; he didn't know either.

* * *

They came to another room with a carpet; but this time, there were no freaky dolls for show. Thankfully, the room was a sane one and it looked more like a lobby. There were wide paintings on the walls; plush sofas, coffee tables, some book cases and some ornamental plants decorating the room. Though for a lobby, the room sure looked strange since it appeared to be partly a walkway and a lobby.

Both followed the carpet's trail. But when they were just about to go through the door, a phone began to ring. Ciel turned his attention to the phone on one of the nearby tables. The phone seemed to be an antique because of its design compared to the modern telephone; the telephone had a candlestick-like cradle with the receiver and transmitter attached to its ends like buds; the transmitter had a horn like piece attached to it; the switchhook and the ringer box were attached together, which resembled the body of the modern telephone; the antique had silver engravings all over it and complemented well with the phone's black color. But unlike the modern phone, the antique didn't have any buttons or a rotating disc for dialing. Perhaps the phone was only meant for receiving calls?

The phone continued to ring. Now who would make a call at this place? This seems to be the only phone he had seen so far. He also wondered who would be able to answer the phone in the vastness of the castle. The castle was so huge for a phone like this to be noticed by the inhabitants of the castle.

"Might as well answer it then." Ciel decided finally and picked up the cradle. "Hello?"

Surprisingly, there seemed to be someone answering. Though, the sound was quite fuzzy. "C…c-ci…el…" A struggling voice sounded through the receiver.

"Hello?" Ciel answered loudly. "Who is this?"

"You…ave…to…-isten…carefully…Ci…el…"

Ciel brought the receiver closer to his ear.

"Be…ware…of…Ash……Y…your….A…-zoth…" Then the sound immediately cut off.

"Hello?!" Ciel said through the transmitter more loudly. "Are you still there?!" But no answer came through the phone but total silence. He placed the cradle back to its switchhook; he frowned in wonder. "Azoth? What could that voice have said if the conversation had not cut off? And… about Sir Ash…"

"MY DOLLY!!!"

"Oh, nevermind…" The chase was on again.

* * *

**A/n: **Character round-up! So far we have:

**Fiona Belli - **Ciel Phantomhive

**Hewie - **Sebastian (just call him Sebastien for now...)

**Ayla Belli - **Rachel Phantomhive

**Ugo Belli - **Vincent Phantomhive

**Debilitas - **Pluto

**Riccardo - **Ash

**Daniella - **Angela (Ok, I've spoiled it =D

**Aureolus **(is the spelling right?)** Belli - **???

One more character to guess! Oh yeah, _"italized dialogue" _are Sebastien's comments, similar to the Hewie comments in Haunting Ground. But here, Sebastien reacts to what he sees and thinks about things in general. Oh yeah, a CielXAsh moment right there and it's necessary folks. Sorry to disappoint the CielXSeb fans out there, but the way I have written the story, it's mostly composed of CielXAsh! Oh noes! Don't worry, Sebastien/an would have his moment; I'll try to think of something...

My exams will start in 2 weeks or so, so this would be the final chapter I'd be submitting for the moment. But I'll be back! Definitely! I have post-its on my study-table to remind me of writing the story...

Replies:

**Yana5 – **Glad you think so! Now have another! (:D)

**kyothefallenkit – **Glad you think so! Now have a tart! (:D)


	10. Subitus Cado

_**Chapter 8: Subitus Cado**_

Perhaps the antique phone's incessant ringing earlier had brought Pluto's attention to them quite inconveniently. As soon as Ciel and the mysterious caller had finished their conversation, Pluto had burst into the room and pursued Ciel immediately. But this time, he had Sebastien by his side and judging by the wolf's previous encounter with Pluto, Sebastien did not hesitate to attack. Ciel shouted, "Sebastien!" and the wolf immediately pounced on the pursuer and bit as fiercely as he could. With the commotion going on, the boy ran for the door that Pluto had entered and tried to find a place to hide in the huge area. Judging by the huge flight of stairs he could see, he must've gotten to the entrance hall since there was a huge and wide door just a few steps before the staircase. But enough viewing for a while; he had to hide somewhere.

Pluto's yowls and screams could still be heard from the previous room. But he knew that Sebastien has his limits for keeping him at bay for a while. His eyes surveyed the area and he decided to hide at the darkest corner under the staircase. There were pillars supporting the staircase and that meant there was a hollow area underneath that area. He settled himself into that dark area and made himself unnoticeable by bringing his legs up to his chest to make himself appear as small as possible.

"Oh, where is YOU?!" Pluto shouted while searching for him. Sebastien barked at Pluto in an attempt to grab his attention and lead the man away. The wolf knew that the boy was hiding somewhere and he had to keep the madman away for Ciel to be able to escape.

"Dog…!" Pluto pointed at Sebastien. "Doggy! DOOOOGGYYY!!!" In childish glee, he hopped about a bit and gave chase to Sebastien. _"That's it! Chase me like a rat! Come on!" _The wolf barked and darted back to the lobby area with Pluto chasing him. To where he went, only the wolf knew where…

* * *

Angela prepared the materials and ingredients she needed to cook for the young master's dinner. Though she didn't even think of what the dinner would be, she just picked out random ingredients that she could reach out of the freezer and from the pantry. Well in fact, she never knew any recipe since this was the first time that someone actually needed to eat…

"Angela!" Ash entered the kitchen and immediately grabbed the maid's arm at the sight of her. "Follow me."

The maid didn't even flinch by the harsh way she was tagged to go along. Ash dragged her all the way to a dismantled room with bountiful cobwebs. He grabbed a dusty chair and pushed the maid to make her sit down on it. Angela remained nonchalant.

"Where is the old man, Angela?" Ash paced around the maid seated in the middle of the room. The maid's expression remained unchanged even though he was fuming with impatience and rage.

"WHERE IS HE?!!" He shouted at her and slapped her face. But Angela seemed not to care and continued her stare at nothing. Ash grabbed a fistful of her hair and forced her face to focus on him. "I'm asking you again; WHERE IS ALASTAIR?!!"

The maid did not respond and laughed. Ash, frustrated, resorted to beating the maid's face until it was covered with ugly bruises. But all the while, Angela seemed not to care. Ash finally stopped; he should not be fatigued easily by dealing with this woman.

"He is MINE! Do you hear me, old man?!" He yelled at the door. "I won't let you touch him!"

* * *

Ciel was out and running from his hiding place since the 'fireflies' had come for him again. He did his best to dodge them, though there was no point in outrunning them since they floated about so slowly. At least five of them had started appearing all of a sudden. Where they had come from, he didn't know.

He went up the grand staircase and followed the hallway to somewhere. His heart raced as he grew worried for Sebastien's wellbeing; sure the wolf was intelligent enough to look out for his own, but what if he ended up in grave peril just like the way he had found him all choked up with wire? "I hope you're alright, Sebastien…" He prayed.

The fireflies continued to follow him but luckily, one of the fireflies just mysteriously vaporized. "Only four more to lose." He noted as he spotted an approaching door. Quickly, he ran for it and went inside the room that the door had. "Maybe if I close this door, those things would stop following me." So, he did and finally the fireflies weren't able to get him inside the room.

Ciel didn't feel acquainted with the room once again, since the light was red in color, just like the doll-exhibit room. Well on second thought, this room was another doll-exhibit room, though it displayed clothed mannequins rather than dolls. There were dressers, wardrobes, cribs and a toy box present in all four corners of the room, making the place seem like a nursery. A rocking chair with a mannequin was present in the middle of the room and it rocked by itself continually; a life-sized cage, with mannequins and toys imprisoned inside, was on the left of the door he had entered; then at the far end of the room, there were a multitude of mannequins, stuffed toys, toy blocks, pillows and all the playthings all huddled up together. But what stood out the most among the toys was a wooden, bright red, miniature vending machine. Ciel inspected it closely and saw that there was a slot on it; similar to what the golems in the laboratory had. "But it's best not to mess around with things that aren't even mine."

He exited the room via the other door and came to a museum-like area. The area in front of him displayed a number of chariots driven by skeletal horses. Also, the walls around him displayed all kinds of weapons and armor; maces, swords, spears, plates and shields. Looking around, he saw a plaque displayed in front of the chariot exhibit; the plaque read, "The Mars Exhibit".

"Mars?" Ciel read. "The Roman god of war and bravery… Just who decided to set up an exhibit like this in the castle?"

He wandered around some more. Then he came to a railed area and looked down to what the floor under him had to show. He saw another exhibit below; but it doesn't seem like an exhibit since it displayed a set of tables and chairs for fine-dining. Curious to what the exhibit's label might be, he went around the rails and went down by the stairs. Upon having a closer view, he realized that the dining set was completely made of ice; though he wondered why the ice wasn't melting. Perhaps it's a unique kind of ice?

As he pondered on, he suddenly heard a nearby howl. "Sebastien?" He said. He looked around the area to search for his wolf. But he couldn't see him…

"Oof!" He suddenly felt the floor slam to his face and a heavy pressure on his back. Sebastien had pounced on his back in surprise and sat on him. _"You're kind of pathetic aren't you?" _The wolf barked and wagged his tail.

"Sebastien, get off!" Ciel laughed and lifted his face off the floor. "You silly wolf! Let me up!"

Sebastien hopped off the boy's back and received another rub on the head. _"Shouldn't you give me something worthy as a reward for leading that madman away from you?" _The wolf looked up at the boy expectantly. The affectionate rub on the head he received from the boy didn't satisfy him enough.

"Sorry Sebastien." Ciel said to him in an apologetic manner. "If only I have something to give you to compensate for your trouble. But…" He pecked a kiss on the wolf's nose. "That's all I can give right now."

If wolves could blush, Sebastien could've done it. _"WHY ARE YOU KISSING ANIMALS?!!" _He silently protested.

"Anyways, let's go find Sir Ash." Ciel said. "Let's tell him that we've found Pluto."

"_Grr…" _Sebastien inwardly growled. _"Ash again. If he sneaks in another flirting session, I'll… Wait… why do I care if Ash flirts with you?!"_

But they weren't able to find Ash. Instead, they found Pluto searching in the creepy nursery and managed to get him to chase after their heels (paws in Sebastien's case). The group ran around the castle until they had tired each other out. Ciel took in air as if he had rose up from underwater after swimming under it for 24/7 and Sebastien panted with the most of his tongue out; though he looked ungracious and silly, he couldn't help it. Both had hidden under the bed in the guestroom which was located nearby the ice-sculpture exhibit. Ridiculously, they had chased each other in a complete circle around the castle.

"Where is Sir Ash, I wonder?" Ciel thought. "We just need him more than ever!"

Ciel and Sebastien waited under the bed until they had both calmed down. But there was still tension in the air that Pluto might come for them any minute. Sebastien trusted his instincts to get out from under the bed and lead Pluto away from Ciel again.

"Sebastien, stay!" Ciel pleaded. Sebastien grew confused to what he should do.

"Go find Ash." Ciel said to him. "Look for a scent similar to this." He brought out the handkerchief the servant had provided and held it close to the hound's nose. "Then come back to me. I'll try to stall Pluto in one place while I wait for you."

Sebastien sniffed the scented handkerchief and commemorated to mind what the scent was. Now all he needed was Ciel's command for him to go.

"You know my scent do you, boy?" Ciel asked him. "Now go! I'll do my best to distract Pluto. Go!" He said as he gave the wolf another rub on the head and crawled out of his hiding place. Sebastien locked his eyes on the boy's retreating form before he started to sniff for the same lavender scent that the boy requested.

The wolf formed some thoughts as he sniffed around the floor. What exactly caused him to be involved in this cat-and-mouse chase mess? Why didn't he drag the boy to the castle's main gate when they have had already ventured to it so close? His only intention was to repay the kindness the boy had done to him by getting him out of this dangerous castle as quickly as possible. And yet, he was still stuck with the boy like he was some sort of pet.

"_Okay. After this Pluto assignment, I'll lead Ciel to the castle gate. And that's all for sure!" _Said the wolf to himself as he followed Ash's there was this instinct that the boy was putting himself in danger. _"But what matters most? Obey the command or aid him to ensure his safety? Which option should I choose?" _

Sebastien chose the former and started looking for the annoying lavender scent. _"Ciel's scent is better than his! Grr…!"_

* * *

Ciel bravely appeared to Pluto who was just outside the room they were hiding in. The boy led the chase around the castle once more with one objective in mind: Keep Pluto in one place as long as possible. He wondered about the wolf's intellect; the wolf could understand him perfectly, and the wolf wasn't being as stubborn as before anymore…

"CIII-EELL!!!"

Anyways, he had to concentrate to his objective for now…

He ran back to the nursery as fast as he could and grabbed a doll from one of the playthings displayed in the room and stuffed it inside his vest. Afterwards, he ran outside to the exhibits but Pluto had caught up with him and waited outside the door in open arms; ready to capture him any second. But Ciel ducked and dodged his grab just in time and took off running. He led the man around the railed area but he skidded to a stop when he encountered a dead-end walkway. But all was not for worry when he saw that there was an area that wasn't protected by any railings. The height of the walkway down to the floor below wasn't that high to kill Pluto from a fall; but the height was enough to probably knock him out if he was to be successful to push him to the edge…

Pluto was fast approaching him and he looked terribly mad. "Dolly! Go…to… BED!" He panted and darted towards him for another grab, and Ciel dodged it well. But in doing so, the boy got cornered on the walls and Pluto was closing in. Ciel sidled to his left to lead Pluto around to the unprotected ledge; luckily, the man wasn't able to decipher the boy's plan. Ciel kicked at his heels from the wall and quickly charged at the man to make him fall off the ledge. But unfortunately, he wasn't able to push Pluto off the ledge because his impact wasn't enough; Pluto just staggered a bit backwards and wasn't even a few steps closer to the ledge. Ciel made a quick back-step and charged at him again, but it only made Pluto to grab him finally. "DOLLY!!! BED!!!" The man snarled at him. Ciel struggled and kicked; Pluto continued to squeeze him like a simple stuffed doll and it seemed to be he was to be snapped into half. The boy pulled himself away even it was for naught.

"Let go of me before I…!" Ciel's temper immediately went off the fuse and kicked the man's groin. Since his heel's impact was doubled because of his rage and the boot's material, the pain was enough for the man to double up and release him. Pluto yowled in pain and the distraction was enough for Ciel to run a safe distance away. "Sebastien, please hurry up!"

After an excruciating moment, Pluto had slightly recovered from his injury. Seeing Ciel continuously running away from him angered him more and chased after the boy. Once again, they had chased all around the castle until Ciel was completely exhausted. The boy couldn't stop thinking about Sebastien. "Did he really understand what I want for him to do?" He thought desperately. "Please hurry up! I can't hold on here much longer…"

Ciel led Pluto to a huge, balcony area which was located in the door past the Mars exhibit. The area was out in the open and it gave a glimpse of the time of the day; it was a wet evening and the dark sky was scattered with stars twinkling like tiny diamonds. The balcony had gargoyles resting on the ledges, probably to ward off evil magic as to medieval belief. "No… more… running…" Ciel decided that this area is the right place to stall Pluto and wait for Sebastien and Ash. But still, he remained worried about Sebastien's progress and the possibility of him to get captured by Pluto… and get killed…

Pluto came running and panted hard. "Dolly! Running… no more…!" He grunted in fatigue and kicked the door shut. What aggravated Ciel more was the fact that Pluto had thought of locking the door with the multitude of keys he had. Now that the door was locked, Ciel had to think of a way to open that door again for Ash and Sebastien to enter.

Ciel back-stepped up to the corner of the ledge and crouched a bit to build up his stamina and momentum; he had to knock down Pluto for a good measure and while he's down, he must be quick enough to snatch his keys and open the door. But the problem was, which one of those keys is the correct one to open the door?

He dismissed the latter problem and focused on the first part of his plan. Pluto was approaching him…

And then he heard a low cracking sound. It was coming underneath him… What could it be?

His question was answered when he felt himself tilting over. He looked at his feet and the stone floor he was standing on began to split. The low cracking sound began to sound over and over and became a deafening blast when the portion of the balcony he was standing on instantly collapsed, with him along. The incident happened so fast that he had no time to scream; his feet touched nothing and he felt himself falling. He felt his body touch the ground painfully and the crushing pile of rubble from the balcony pile over him.

"CIEL!!!"

* * *

**A/n: **I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKK!!! (:P)

Replies:

**LovelyWickedDescet – **Nope, it's not Undertaker; keep on guessing. Thanks a lot! Now have a tart! …And more seduction scenes to follow (:D)

**Yana5 – **(o_O) Nice guess. But wrong. Have a tart and keep on guessing!

**chu chu banato! – **Thanks a lot! Now have a tart!

**Lunarkitty15 – **I know who you're guessing (the Baron guy? ^^). While I was conceptualizing, he was one of my candidates as Lorenzo's equivalent but 2 weeks later, I scratched him out because I have a better role for him in another fanfic (which is related to this fic). Sorry, but he isn't Lorenzo.


	11. Consultum Ex Atrum

_**Chapter 9: Consultum Ex Atrum**_

…_Cold water encased all over him… streams of bubbles amused his sights to no end…_

…_He blinked… he inhaled the water… he felt nothing…_

…_He heard a tap from the glass…_

"_Hi, Ciel!" Said a happy voice…_

* * *

He was reclined to something soft and comfortable; the faint scent of lavender made him snuggle closer to the source of comfort.

"Ciel?" Said a familiar voice.

He slightly moved his head but in doing so, he moaned since a throbbing pain waved over his whole body. He tried moving his arm and legs a bit but they seemed to be numb...

"Don't move just yet. The fall has affected your spine and some of your senses."

"D…dad?" He said weakly. Then he felt a rim of something being brought up to his lips and a bitter liquid passed through his tongue. The liquid tasted so bad that he spluttered and regained his senses like a flash of lightning. He shot up immediately and tried to cough out the aftertaste. "Daddy, that was terrible!!!" He said as he looked at the man he could see from his blurry vision.

The man laughed. "Do you really think so, young master?"

"Eh?" Ciel squinted a bit until his vision cleared. When Ash's face came into view, he began to blush furiously. He had called him 'dad' and this was the third time around!

"I wonder what it is I have that makes you think I am Lord Vincent." Ash asked in an amused tone. Ciel remained deeply flustered and began to stammer incoherent words. "I…ah…you…because… you… I mean…" Then he, growled at himself in frustration. Ash couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Apologies, my lord." Ash said a while later. "I shouldn't have asked you such thing."

Ciel remained silent and shrugged. "Don't worry. I was going to answer anyway."

"Hm?"

A moment of silence prevailed. "I see my father in you." Ciel answered. "From your face, to the way you speak and care for me." He brushed his arm in embarrassment and refused to meet the keeper's eyes. "Everything…" He almost said in a hushed voice. "Coincidence! I-it's kind of silly, don't you t-think?"

Ash blinked. Ciel couldn't suppress a red hot blush and turned away.

"It really is." The keeper whispered to him in a fond and gentle tone. Ciel thought he was going to faint at how awkward the whole conversation turned into. He was still questioning himself why he was acting this way? He had been around many guys before but why does this one make him all flustered and so? He also asked himself about liking girls; there was one that he actually liked… the Robin(1) girl, was it? But he liked her in a particular level, and it was definitely not the way he liked Ash…

"Are you alright, young master?" Ash went a little closer to him and gently put the back of his hand at the boy's cheeks and neck. Ciel only blushed harder that he looked like an overripe tomato. "I've noticed that you look flustered all the time. Do you have a fever?"

"N-no… noooo…" He had to find a way to stop this embarrassment NOW! "A-AH! SEBASTIEN!!!" He almost shouted. "W-where is he?!"

Ash withdrew his hand. "He's currently guarding Pluto's hut, my lord."

"Hut?"

"Yes, my lord. Your wolf cleverly dragged me along to your location." Ash answered. "Forgive me for not being able to rescue you before you got buried in the rubble."

Ciel's eyes widened in shock. "I-I… I was buried?!"

"You must've lost consciousness since you were not able to feel the pain." Ash said. "But nevertheless, you are now alright… although," He frowned a little. "I'm curious why the young master is able to recover from certain injuries with a speed beyond normal…"

"I've never noticed that…" Ciel shrugged. "But what happened to Pluto?"

"I lured Pluto back to his hut with the use of the bisque doll you have in possession. I've locked him in his hut for good measure. I've tasked your wolf to guard the location until we come back to him." The keeper sighed. "Though tasking him had delayed me for so long to return to you and give you medicine. I'm sorry."

"Stubborn, isn't he? But look, I'm still alive amidst the delay." Ciel amusingly giggled. "Would you please lead me to him?"

Ash bowed. "Yes, my lord."

* * *

Dawn had slowly started its approach. Ciel wondered how long was he out or, rather what time had he fallen from the balcony? He dismissed the questions and just reminded himself that the castle must be terribly ancient to have some certain places to be dysfunctional. He had to be careful at all times since Ash isn't always around to help him, that's for sure.

He must've fallen from the balcony down to the area surrounding the castle's walls. He was in some sort of a backyard area since there was vegetation around. Also, the lamps around the area were like street-lamps because of their height. But the odd thing was, they weren't standing straight; they were bent in odd and twisted angles like in Wonderland. It didn't make any sense why it was made to bend that way; but the again, a lot of the places in the castle were nonsensical at most. He followed Ash until they had come upon Pluto's hut; though it wasn't exactly a hut but a straw house that was suitable for inhabitation. Sebastien patrolled around the hut's only entrance with keen senses. The wolf started wagging his tail at the sight of Ciel.

"Sebastien!" The boy quickly ran to him and gave him a tight embrace. Ash went to the hut's entrance and secured the chains and locks that were placed all over the door. "Now don't go bothering Ciel, you beast!" He muttered. "You mustn't lay a finger on him or else…!"

"What time is it, Sir Ash?" Ciel asked him therefore, interrupting his silent cursing. "Perhaps it is time to rest?"

"It's 5 o'clock in the morning, my Lord." Answered Ash as he quickly consulted his pocket watch. Ciel gave a small gasp in shock.

"It's terribly late! You must rest." The boy said hurriedly. "And as your master, that's an order." He added with a slight frown to show his seriousness. Ash was about to protest but ended up resigning to the boy's will. "If that's what you wish for me to do, so shall it be."

Ciel stifled a yawn. "Sebastien, you could go rest in my room. Come on." Then he turned to Ash and gave a small wave. "Have a good rest, Sir Ash!"

Ash replied with a smile and a nod. As he watched the boy's retreating form, he muttered to himself, "Just a little more time, Ciel. And you'll finally be mine…"

* * *

Ciel continued to yawn as he walked around the pathway. He was in an unknown location again, that's for sure and he wasn't sure how to get back to his bedroom. He just noted to himself to keep moving forward and if there's a door, just go inside.

He passed through a dark alcove-passageway; there was nothing to be scared of despite the red lighting. He and Ash had passed through here when they were going to Pluto's hut. Interestingly, the wall had numerous cubbyhole like spaces on the walls.

"Ci…el…" A haunting whisper came through the passageway's numerous holes. The whisper sent shivers down the boy's neck. "Ci…el…… come…here…" Ciel hesitantly approached a hole and peeked through it. He saw nothing, but the whisper continued to sound through it. "Ci…el……… come…here…"

Sebastien sniffed at the hole for good measure, he recoiled a bit when he realized what the smell was. _"What a stench! But nevertheless, it's not really safe to stick your hand in…!"_

"What is it, boy?" Ciel cast a glance at the wolf upon seeing him retreat. Curious, he cautiously put his hand in the hole until his whole arm had gone along inside. Sebastien began to growl and tugged at his coat-tail in disapproval. _"No!!! Don't put your hand…!"_

The boy suddenly screamed in shock when he felt a cold and scrawny hand grip the wrist he had entered into the hole. He struggled and pulled to free the bone-breaking grip of the hand; Sebastien continued his pulling action until he had managed to make the boy sprawl to the ground. The bony hand had managed to make itself present outside the hole for a few seconds; the hand was almost white and skeletal in color and whoever belonged to it, he or she must be terribly ancient. Ciel and Sebastien stared at the lingering hand before it withdrew quickly after dropping a folded paper and a key.

"Whoever that was," Ciel whispered as he twisted his wrist a bit to relieve it from the grip. "He or she must be desperate to give me whatever this thing is…" He slowly picked up the note and opened it; true enough there seemed to be a hasty scrawl inside:

_Ciel you must get out of this place as quick as possible. Damn that Ash! He has sealed the main gate, but I know of a less-known way out of this place. There is an old mansion beyond this castle, and beyond that mansion is the way to freedom. I have included the directions for you to get there:_

_Use the key included with this note and retrieve the **Lunar Refractor** inside the Study. Then, head to the tower beyond the suspension bridge located just above the balcony. On the first floor of the tower, open the spiral stairs down to its basement. At the basement, there are two contraptions known as the **Lunar Panels**. Adjust the panels so that they may shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel. Then, get the **Saturnus key** hanging on the goddess' statue. That key will allow you to open the way towards the mansion which is the door with the similar pattern as the key you have retrieved. Though it might be a long way to go to get to the outside, I trust in your capabilities that you'll manage to escape._

_Please understand that my only intention is to keep you away from Ash's foul and deceitful hands. Do not trust him at all costs! - **Alastair**_

"I don't understand…" He shook his head. "This might be the same person who had warned me to beware of Ash. Is there a reason why Ash is so nice to me? Just what is this Azoth that he wants from me?!" He folded the note and put it along with the key inside his breast pocket. He stood up and put his hands on his waist. "By the way since the balcony had collapsed, perhaps I could climb up that rubble and head to the mentioned tower immediately." He turned his head to Sebastien. "Don't you think so?"

"_Well, whoever that is, you should follow that advice. I don't trust Ash either. And seeing the way he charms you, I don't think it's for a good thing." _The wolf thought grudgingly. _"And since you're the one who's enchanted by Ash so much; have you even asked him what that Azoth is?!"_

"Sebastien, let's go!" He called the wolf and ran back to the rubble of the collapsed balcony. The sun was beginning to rise when he had started scaling the pile of rubble. Unlike the first pile he had attempted to climb, he had managed to climb up successfully to the floor where the balcony used to be. "Sebastien, can you climb up here?"

"_No problem!" _Sebastien barked in response and scaled the pile easily. Ciel clapped happily at his achievement and rewarded the wolf with another rub on the head.

"Oh, Pluto had locked that door but…" The boy cast a look at the only door in the area. "Let's see if it's still locked, just in case." He went to the door and tried to open it; fortunately it was unlocked. He was able to sigh in relief. "Well that's good but, Ash or the maid might lock this when nightfall arrives... but then again, this was unlocked when I first went here…"

Sebastien nudged his leg.

"Anyway, it's open so that's it." Ciel finally dismissed the matter. "Let's check out that tower!"

He said and explored the area for a way up to the suspension bridge. "There should be a ladder here somewhere…" But when that statement came to mind, he instantly remembered Sebastien's possible inability to climb ladders. "I'm afraid I can't take you with me, Sebastien. You're not able to climb ladders since you haven't got any hands for the proper grip." Ciel told him in a sad tone and gave him another rub on the head. Sebastien stopped wagging his tail; this was the only thing he wasn't able to accomplish in his whole lifetime: climbing ladders.

"_If only I had hands…" _The wolf thought. _"Then I would be able to follow you…"_

"Stay until I get back, okay?" Ciel told him and gave him another affectionate rub. "I promise, I'll be back." Then the boy ascended the ladder leading to the area of the suspension bridge. Sebastien watched him go and sat on the floor.

"_Why am I getting attached to this boy?" _He asked himself. _"Why?!!"_

* * *

Ciel felt slightly lonely that his wolf wasn't able to follow him. If only Sebastien could talk, then his explorations around the castle would be more exciting and enjoyable, in a way. Nevertheless, at least the wolf was able to understand him perfectly. "As if he were human… But what am I saying?" He shook his head and sighed sadly. "I can't just change the way things are."

He had finally reached the area of the suspension bridge after a long way up the rusty ladder. The warmth of the early sun had mixed well with the cool breeze of evergreen that it washed away Ciel's worries and fatigue. He closed his eyes and spread his arms wide and let the gentle breeze refresh him. "If only mom and dad were here, I would be able to enjoy this moment even more."After deeply inhaling the scent of evergreen, he returned to his agenda for the new day.

The suspension bridge seemed to be an old and worn-out, machine-operated wooden bridge. He doubted it if he'd manage to walk through it safely; there were some planks that were heavily damaged and would only need a single step to break them. But thankfully, most of the bridge was still functional enough to be used… well the way he had looked at it, at least. Nevertheless there's a bridge then, what the note had said was true; along with the fact that there was also a tower after the bridge. "But should I really do what the note says?" The warning of the mysterious caller earlier rang in his mind. "Beware of Ash… Azoth…?" He shook his head. "…Never heard of it. But whatever it is, maybe I could give it to him… as long as there is a good reason why I should do it…" He said to himself as he started crossing the bridge. He sided close to the bridge's support rails for safety and avoided any threatening planks that he could see. After a minute, he had crossed the bridge and arrived at the tower's entrance.

The first floor seemed to be a huge, plain, dusty room. Though the walkway and the stairs to the lower ground creaked when he walked over it; perhaps it's a sign of the place's old age. But they do not seem to be showing any signs of giving away. "But it'd be better if I would not push it to hard. It might give away too soon." Ciel said to himself as he descended from the walkway to the floor below. "The note said I should open the way down to the basement, but how?"

He looked around the floor to look-out for anything strange. The floor had a huge, circular, black metal platform on the center; the platform had embossed planetary symbols encircling a central design of the Earth with a lime green serpent wrapped all around it. The serpent reminded Ciel of Jormungand, the giant serpent that wrapped the Earth because of its gigantic size according to the Norse mythology. Similar to Jormungand, the serpent design had its tail inside its mouth; but most of the design centered on Ptolemy's Geocentric-belief. "But aside from that, there are no other things here that are attributed to Norse mythology." He noted. "I have a hunch that this might be the way to the mentioned basement with the Lunar Panels, but how do I open this?" He tapped the platform with his foot. "Is there a switch I should press or something?"

He looked around the room some more. He noticed that there were rows of colored stone blocks placed against the walls of the room. Each stone block matched the color of each adjacent block; the left side of the room had orange blocks; the right side had blue; the back had green and the front had yellow. Though, he noticed that there were some stone blocks that did not match their corresponding colors; some of the blue blocks joined the orange ones and some other blocks were scattered about away from their rows. The props were in total disarray and it was a total eyesore; Ciel proceeded to push and drag the ill-fitted blocks to match their corresponding sides.

* * *

Noon had started to arrive but Sebastien continued to wait at the balcony area. Not that he was loyally waiting for the boy to return; he was stalled by doubts and thoughts of going away to some other place or to continue waiting for him. Humans are beings full of deceit and treachery. He had encountered a great many of those men who had attempted to hunt him or sell to the market. So, he had held on to the principle that humans are not meant to be trusted.

One thing for sure; Ciel was human thus, he is capable of lying. He must not trust the boy either.

But… not even once had he sensed that the boy had lied or broke a promise. _"Perhaps his whole being is a lie then." _Sebastien continued to ponder. _"If he couldn't lie, then I must say he's not human."_

Another thought struck his nimble mind. _"He's such a helpless little human. And naïve and too kind to boot." _He thought. _"Without me, he won't be able to survive this place just to find the restroom, as an example." _He sat and laid his head down in between his laid-out paws to rest. _"He needs me; that I am sure about." _

Hours continued to pass and Sebastien continued to think. _"And once he has no use of me anymore, he'll abandon me to some godforsaken place. Humans are always like that."_

But in the end, the wolf remained in his place, waiting.

* * *

Ciel's body was totally soaked with sweat because of his almost epic struggle in moving the stone blocks to their proper place. The blocks were heavier than he had thought they would be. Whoever who had moved them must have an enormous amount of strength to move an amount of them away from their original places. He grunted loudly while moving the last stone block back to its rightful place. After a struggle of strength, he had managed to push the block to its position; the final push had made him fall to the floor like a limp rag-doll. But nevertheless, he had finally finished his task and felt that it was his greatest achievement in terms of physical struggle. His pride further swelled when he heard a gravelly sound of metal rubbing against each other. The central design of the metal platform had started spinning and in turn, the majority of the black metal of the platform converted itself into sections as it sank down to the floor in a spiraling formation.

"The basement!" He panted as he watched the mechanism form a spiral staircase to the floor below. "Those blocks had surely done it!" He quickly picked himself up from the floor and proceeded to go down the stairs immediately. The basement was altogether dark but was lighted enough for the boy's eyes to see the area. The room consisted mostly of nothing, save for two devices he could see on the opposite poles of the room. He approached a nearby device and looked at it closely. "According to the note, this must be a Lunar Panel. But I can't see much of it with the place this dark."

He squinted his eyes at the right of the Lunar Refractor; there seemed to be an outline of a door. He approached to the assumed door and tried to grope for a doorknob. When his hand enclosed with a familiar shape, he twisted it and heard a click. He concluded that he had found the doorknob and pulled the door open. Light infiltrated through the room and enabled him to see the wholeness of the room. But he was interested at what the outside was. He stepped out immediately and saw a familiar area ahead of him.

"It's that cave-like hallway where I received the note!" He exclaimed. That meant that the tower was just close by, after all; though it was necessary to take the longer route since the door was locked from the inside. Also, the area was almost concealed by the tall and wide branches of vegetation in the area. He crossed through the vegetation and found himself in front of the steps towards the cave-like hallway.

"This means that I won't be leaving Sebastien alone anymore!" He said excitedly. With haste, he went back to the collapsed balcony and climbed up. In his excitement, he had almost forgotten how tired and hungry he was and how the leaves and twigs had stuck to his hair, face and clothes. Sebastien was instantly alerted of the boy's approaching voice and scent and he immediately bounded up to him. "Sebastien!" Ciel called and embraced him tightly. "You waited for me! Good boy!"

The wolf wagged his tail since he thought that it was appropriate to do so.

"I don't know what time it is, but I think it's time that we get some rest." Ciel said and scrunched his nose a bit as he looked at his sweaty self. "… and in a dire need of a bath." He laughed. "Come on, let's go and..."

His statement had suddenly cut to a stop when a slim, white hand had harshly gripped his shoulder. He gasped in shock and sharply glanced to see the owner of the hand. He saw the face of the ever lovely maid he had first encountered in the castle. She had her eyes completely gazed upon him as if willing to read his mind. Ciel continued to look at her in shock and his jaw had ungraciously dropped open.

"The young master had been away for so long." She said in a dreary, but strangely gentle voice. "You have missed last night's dinner and today's breakfast."

Ciel blushed and closed his mouth and gulped in guilt.

"The master has recently grown worried about your wellbeing." She continued. "It is not good for you to skip your meals; especially since you have a delicate body, young master."

"Ah…" He gulped. "I'm sorry I have burdened you much. I'll go eat my meals right away."

The maid withdrew her hand gently from his shoulder and gave a courteous bow.

"Excuse me." Ciel said as he sheepishly looked at her face again. "But I haven't got your name yet…"

"My master calls me Angela, young master." She answered. "Since he thinks it's necessary for me to have a name."

Ciel was curious to what Angela's words meant; especially the one that she continuously calls 'master' and the necessity of her to be named. But nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut about the matter. He followed her as she escorted him to the dining room.

* * *

"No dogs allowed in the dining room, young master." Angela said as she saw Sebastien follow Ciel to the room. The boy became upset immediately at the statement and answered her, "But he's a good boy! He won't do anything out of place, I'm sure of that!"

But Angela held on to her words. "No dogs allowed in the dining room." She repeated. "I'm sorry young master, but you should abide by the right etiquette as the young master of the Phantomhive estate."

"And as the young master of the estate, I'd get to do what I want with it; from its façade down to its rules and regulations." He argued, albeit in a gentle tone. "Starting with your said etiquette; dogs are allowed in the dining room, as long as the animal does not create any trouble in any way."

Angela remained staring at him; neither because of the argument or the tone the boy had used. "No dogs allowed in the dining room, young master." She said nonchalantly. Ciel had no choice but to resign to the maid's words; after all, he was getting really hungry after having skipped 3 meals… or maybe more than that. The boy rubbed Sebastien's head and spoke to him sadly, "Sorry, Sebastien but you have to stay outside while I eat. Don't worry, I'll give you your food as soon as I have finished." He said as he led the wolf out to the door they had entered. "Stay there until I get back to you, okay?"

Sebastien barked softly in reply and sat outside the deserted corridor. Ciel gave the wolf a somehow resentful look at his crimson eyes before closing the door. "I'll be back. I promise!"

The moment the wolf had looked into the boy's eyes, Sebastien was held completely spellbound. He had seen the most of men's eyes before; each and every one of those eyes held an ugly reflection of greed and malicious and evil intent. Ciel's eyes were completely unique; it was the first time he had seen such a pair of beautiful eyes. Perhaps it was because of the gentleness and innocence reflected within them.

He sat waiting, almost in a daze of being enchanted by those eyes. He was willing to wait for endless hours if in the end of his waiting, he would see those eyes again.

"_Yes, I believe you'll be back…"_

**

* * *

**

**A/n:** Alastair, Alastair. Let the mystery character burn in your mind (:D). It seems he's the most difficult character to guess, hm? Extra large (imaginary)alchemic confection of your choice if you manage to guess correctly who he is (:D). I'll PM you so that the others won't know :)

**(1) "Robin girl" -** Think of Ciel in drag in Episode 4 of the anime. A little background of "Robin" in the story: Robin is Ciel's pretty classmate in college and he likes her, but as a friend only (Aww, Ciel. Not much of your type? -gets bitten by Sebastien-). I know Lizzy is a fitting equivalent to this particular character in passing but, I have chosen a role for Lizzy in a 'particular story' related to this, so...

Now I have this sudden urge to write a story about Ciel's college life... but I do not have the time for that now so hopefully, that story won't materialize...

**NOTICE: **I just can't seem to edit this chapter properly. The chapter title and Alastair's note should be centered to know the difference between the content. I don't know what's wrong with the editor though. Please excuse me...

Replies:

**LovelyWickedDescet – **Yep, Sebby's getting possessive. So, it's Sebby vs. Ash. Let's give our wolfie the support (LOL XD). Sorry, but Lorenzo's character is not any of the Shinigamis in Kuroshitsuji (there's a hint). Oh yeah, the new Shinigami's name is Ronald Knox; I call him "Roni" for short (:D). He seems to be Grell's junior since he calls Grell 'senpai'. Roni's death scythe is a lawn mower… maybe I could hire him to mow the lawn for me :D

**Yana5 – **Aww… it's okay if you don't know. Want a cupcake? Here! (hands imaginary cupcake) (:D)

**Chu chu banato! – **Really? It's crazy? Then expect more craziness and awkwardness! Enjoy your tart. Now have another! :D

**Lunarkitty15 – **Nope, it's not Lau. Haha! It's okay if you love Ash; at least his character is appreciated, right?


	12. Beatitas Virtus

_**Chapter 10: Beatitas Virtus**_

Ciel ate his meal with Angela standing behind him; her eyes intently locked on him to see just in case if he would need any form of assistance. Though it was nice to have someone concerned for him, her stare was similar to that of the Iron Queen, Persephone; the souls of the dead dining under her dread gaze. Though her intent gaze was not dread, the feeling sent the hairs at the back of his neck stand on the ends.

"Is something wrong, young master?" Angela asked when she saw him stop midway from sipping the soup. He shook his head and continued consuming his soup.

The dining room area was far too grand for someone to eat alone. The windows were mostly adorned with crimson velvet curtains; the walls had interesting tapestries showing a crest of some sort. The crest consisted of a tiny shield with a huge and long, regal key occupying its center; there were a pair of eagles at the back of the shield, facing against each other and each spread a wing to their corresponding sides; also the shield had rose thorns as its outside design; at the bottom of the shield, there were the words "Potentia Regere" printed on a banner. Perhaps that is the crest of the Phantomhives?

Moving on, the long vertical table had the same crimson velvet as the curtains. Candles, candelabras, tableware and silverware occupied the table as though expecting quite a number of guests but in reality, there was none. Ciel alone had managed to use the laid-out tableware set out at the head of the table. His meal consisted a full set of 3 courses; soup or appetizer, main course and dessert. And to be honest, they were just completely a meal of eye-candy; they did look exquisite and finely cooked but when it comes to taste, all were terribly bland. It was embarrassing to reject the meal since the maid seemed to have made a lot of effort to prepare them. Also, he had skipped meals and it would not do if he'd just run around the castle being hungry.

"I'll just save this pork tongue stew for Sebastien." Ciel set aside his whole plate and looked at Angela. "May I?"

The maid nodded and proceeded to give him his dessert. Ciel's eyes lit up upon seeing custard and sherbet being served. But the moment he had inserted the spoonful of dessert into his mouth, his face slowly toned down into disappointment. The cold custard and sherbet were as bland as the rest and Ciel only felt a wave of brain-freeze rather than a sugar rush. Needless to say, he was excited to finish his meal as soon as possible and finished gulping down the water in a flash. "Thanks for the meal, Angela. Though…" He dabbed his lips with the napkin. "The meal was kind of bland. You need to put in a little bit more of salt."

Angela was shocked upon hearing the comment so, Ciel proceeded to reassure her. "I'm sorry if I had offended you, but I just want you to hear my honest opinion."

"Please forgive my failure, young master." She said as she collected the plates. "I will strive to improve my cooking, next time."

"Thank you, Angela." Said Ciel happily as he took the plate of tongue stew with him. "Oh and by the way, Sebastien and I need to take a bath. Would you please show us the way to the bathroom after you've finished the dishes? We'll just be waiting inside my room."

"Yes, young master." The maid bowed. "I'll prepare the water for you and your dog right away."

Ciel exited the room after thanking her. When he was completely out of sight, Angela took the spoon he had used and licked the remnant of custard left on it.

She tasted nothing.

"Yes master." She answered as if somebody had spoken to her. "I will do everything to fulfill the young master's wishes." And then, she bowed.

* * *

"Sorry if the food's tasteless, Sebastien." Ciel apologized as he set the plate before the wolf. "Don't get mad; I've eaten the same tasteless food."

Sebastien sniffed the plateful of food for caution.

"You're not a picky eater, aren't you?"

"_There's something in the food." _Sebastien barked softly as he recoiled from the plate. _"But I can't tell if it's a harmful thing or not…"_

"Don't turn your nose up at it." Ciel scolded him, but in a gentle kind of way. "That's all we got."

Sebastien internally shrugged and immediately consumed the plate of stew the boy had given him. Whatever that 'mix' in the food, perhaps it's a harmless thing since nothing was happening to the boy yet. He didn't mind the bland taste of the food as well, since he had gotten used to it. Before Ciel had arrived in the castle, the maid had been giving him left-overs to feed on. Those left-overs were just as tasteless as the complete one; but taste doesn't matter if you're terribly hungry.

After a few minutes, Sebastien had finished his food. Then, Ciel immediately followed the staircase beside them to be able to go back to his room. Since he was getting more familiar with the castles passageways and staircases, he felt slightly more at home and he was now able to walk around the castle with a bit of confidence. But still, he had to watch out…

"It got hot all of a sudden…" He worked his ribbon to loosen it up a bit. "Weather, perhaps…"

He walked back to the bedroom with ease and confidence. Upon arriving in the room, he fell on his bed in a heavy and fatigued sigh. "Phew! What a day." He curled up on his bed without even removing his boots. "I'll just take a short nap, Sebastien. Would you mind?" He told the wolf who was sitting on the floor. Sebastien replied with a gentle bark.

"_Why do you keep on talking to me even if you know that I couldn't talk?" _The wolf wondered as he guarded the slumbering child.

* * *

…_He couldn't breathe…_

"_Ciel! Hang on!" A blurry voice called out._

…_The water he had painlessly breathed for endless times before had begun to burn his insides. He tried to find any corner of his container where there was no water. But, there was none..._

"_Why can't you just open up, damn you!" He heard the man slam something on the glass._

_He began to cough out something warm… something foreign… it dissolved in the cold water. He clenched his mouth shut and held his breath as hard as he could…_

"_Help me!" The man frantically called out to somebody. _

_Another man replied. "It can't open!"_

"_Then I'll break it myself!" The man snarled and hit something at the glass. He continuously hurled the object against the glass but the glass remained intact._

_His held breath escaped in a gush of bubbles and red fluid. He couldn't keep himself from breathing in the water; he coughed out some more red fluid and bubbles._

"_Ciel! You won't die!" The man said in determination as he continued to hit the glass. But his efforts remained futile._

…_He felt his vision spin and his head felt a splitting pain. He couldn't survive in this cold water any longer. He felt his eyes close into darkness… _

"_You won't die!" The man yelled as he hurled the object against the glass with all his strength…_

…_He heard the glass break and the gushing of water…_

…_Coldness came over him…_

"_Ciel, breathe!" The man frantically called to him. "Please…"_

…_He stopped breathing…_

* * *

Ciel shot up awake, gasping for breath. He was drenched in cold sweat; his chest had a bursting pain and he took in air in large gulps. The dream seemed so real that he had hardly slept at all. This was the second time he had dreamed of floating inside a water-filled container and the man behind the glass watching over him…

… That voice was familiar, too…

"_Bad dream?" _Sebastien barked at him. _"Maybe it's the effect of that thing in the food…"_

Ciel groaned as he held his head. "It hurts…" He flopped back on the bed; he seemed fatigued from the intense dream. He wanted to close his eyes and regain his sleep but the thought of being inside the glass container restrained him from sleeping. He got out of bed; brought out the note and key from his pocket and deposited them inside the drawer of his bedside table. "Now what should we do now, Sebastien?"

The wolf stretched out his front limbs. _"Why don't we just continue getting the things mentioned in the note?"_

"Hmm… since I'll take a bath a little later, I'd better prepare my clothes." Ciel said as he approached the dresser behind the bed's headboard. The clothes were conveniently sorted by type; the half side of the dresser had drawers and the remaining half was a closet. The first drawer had shirts, cravats, coats and vests. The second had shorts, suspenders, belts and underwear. The third had black and white stockings, broaches, chokers and other strange apparel. The closet contained the footwear which mostly contained pairs of boots. He chose a set of clothing by getting whichever clothing his hands touched. "No pants?" He frowned as he rummaged further in the second drawer. "I just don't feel right running around with my legs exposed all the time… Hey, what's that?"

"_Why not?" _Sebastien thought as he watched his dilemma. _"You have nice legs. Why be shy? Arghh!!" _The wolf snorted._ "What am I thinking?!!"_

"Look, Sebastien!" Ciel pulled out a headband with a pair of animal ears, a strange-looking belt and dark articles of clothing and apparel. Sebastien stared at the apparel in fascination. _"Cat ears?"_

Ciel put on the cat-eared headband and a black eye-mask with gold trimmings. "I'm a cat-boy!" He said in an amused manner and laughed. "Mraow!" He meowed and imitated the slashing paws of cat albeit in a gentle manner. Sebastien retreated. _"Stop that, you idiot!"_

"Hang a minute, Sebastien." Ciel said with a plan in mind. "I wonder what I'll look like?" He started taking off his ribbon and undoing his vest and shirt. Sebastien stared at the stripping boy. _"What are you doing?!"_

Ciel started putting on the black and leathery apparel he picked out of curiosity besides the casual clothes he had chosen to wear. The 'cat suit' as Sebastien termed consisted of a clingy hanging leather top with lace-up strings in the chest area; arm-length, leather gloves with buckles; tight, low waist shorts and a belt with the cat's tail; and a pair of high-heeled boots. The bell choker Ciel put on completely emphasized the fact that he was a little, black, cat-boy.

"Urghh… on second thought." Ciel slightly cringed at the sight of his own reflection. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…" Not that he looked bad in it; the outfit wasn't just comfortable being tight and clingy in all places. "It got a little hotter, too." He pathetically fanned himself with his hand. He looked like somebody's sexual fantasy material; his body was perfect enough to be compared to a girl's though he doesn't have any breasts.

Sebastien stared at him avidly. First, the boy had stripped in front of him; then, dressed up as a cat-boy with an outfit next to nothing. The wolf couldn't help staring with a fascinated sense at his slightly curvy figure. Ciel must be the most beautiful creature he had ever seen; beauty in terms of the inside and the physical. Sebastien wagged his tail and, true enough, submerged into a slight haze of fantasy for the cat-boy. He must be the luckiest wolf alive. _"…Unbelievable!"_ He howled and panted madly; completely aroused.

"Na-ah!" Ciel pointed a snake-skin whip at him (wherever the whip came from). "You naughty wolf, don't howl!" Though he firmly said those words, a hot blush was spreading across his cheeks. He was completely embarrassed by the clingy suit; but he was fortunate enough that nobody else could see him like this. "Better take this off…" So, he immediately took off the mask, gloves, top and boots; his skin had started to look pink in the areas where the leather apparel was. He pulled the zipper on his shorts but unfortunately, it became stuck for some reason. "Uh-oh…" He pulled at it harder. "Why now?!" He pulled harder and harder until his legs tottered aimlessly about in his indignation about the zipper. He stumbled and squirmed on the bed and fussed in frustration about the stubborn zipper. Sebastien had no initiative to help because his eyes were following the swishing motions of Ciel's fluffy tail; and besides, he has no ability to help since he had no hands.

"Dammit! Just… Argghhh!!" The boy growled in frustration as he pulled at the zipper as he continued to fumble about. "Just move!!!"

"Young master?" The keeper of the castle appeared from the receiving area. In Ash's point of view, the boy looked like he was 'busy', as what masturbating people call. Sebastien immediately turned his head at the white clad man; alert and annoyed. _"Just great…" _He inwardly groaned.

Ciel stopped holding the zipper and took five seconds to absorb the presence of the person in front of him. He blushed and quickly gathered the blanket to cover his body. "A…a…ah… hello!" He stuttered.

"Am I intruding your… privacy?" Ash tilted his head.

"NO! No…!!!" Ciel pulled the blanket tightly around him. "Nothing! I'm just having problems with… uh…uhmm…"

Ash approached him; armed with a reassuring smile. "Can I help you?"

"NO!" The boy yelled at him and blushed a deep red. "Noooo…! It's fine! Just a good pull at it and I'm already fine…!"

Sebastien snorted. _"What kind of nonsense…"_

"Ermm…" Ash blinked. "What are you talking about, young master?"

Ciel blushed in embarrassment and let the blanket fall away from him. "It's my shorts…" He pulled at his shorts a bit. "It's stuck."

The silence that prevailed was more than awkward; it was EMBARASSING, to say the least. Ciel was wearing only a tight pair of shorts and the rest of him was clothed with NOTHING. What was worse was the fact that his problem lies on the shorts; around the area which was… the most delicate part of his body. "Come here… I need your help…" He mumbled; his blush deepening into scarlet. "The zipper's stuck."

"I'll do what I can." Ash said as he took of his gloves. He climbed on the bed and semi-crawled to where Ciel was sitting. The boy held his bare legs close in embarrassment.

"Well…" The boy blushed a hot pink. "It's kind of awkward, but it's around… here…"

Ash stared. Ciel's eyes looked down at _that _area. "You know where! Now don't think about it." The boy blushed and looked away.

"Well, young master." Ash said as he semi-crawled closer towards the boy. "I need you to spread your legs a bit."

"Huh?!" Ciel turned beet red. He bunched his legs closer and tighter to himself. "What are you…?"

"I can't see the zipper…" Ash immediately answered. "Would you please?"

Ciel demurely opened his legs. "I-it's here!" He pulled the man's hands to the zipper to avoid further embarrassment. Ash nodded and started pulling, but to no avail as was Ciel's first attempt. Both took turns in pulling and sometimes, formed strategies to pull the zipper off; but the result was the same: failure.

Sebastien was getting impatient. _"You'd better not do anything obscene, or else I'll…"_

Ash frowned. "It's quite stubborn…"

Ciel said nothing. His face was red; deeper than the color of a tomato. Mainly because of how Ash stared at _that_ particular part of his body and how suggestive their positions were; Ash was positioned in between his legs and there he was, almost naked… and wearing a bell choker, cat ears and a tail. "Ah, I left it on…" His hands gripped the headband.

Ash lips curled into a smile. "Were you completely curious as to wear that cat suit, young master?" He tugged at the zipper once more.

"Well, ye –Ah!" Ciel gasped in slight pain; Ash had finally pulled the zipper down. The boy blushed and immediately put his hands to cover _that _area in embarrassment. Nothing much to see there; thankfully he was wearing underwear or else, unthinkable things might happen. "Th-thanks!"

Ash's fingers traveled gently from his abdomen, up to his lips. "You're arousing, my Lord." His eyes scanned the almost naked boy from head to foot. Ciel couldn't help but blush and move backwards. "Eh?"

Sebastien's ears lied back. _"Don't you dare do anything funny…"_

"It suits you." The man said to him in a whisper. "Your feline-like prowess." He moved even closer and stroked another gentle finger up to the boy's body from his waist and to his sides. "Lusty, gentle and a tempting tom… it definitely suits you." He said in an almost hushed and suggestive tone.

"Sir…?" Ciel moved back a bit; the man was motioning closer to him. "I… I don't think I…" He stopped when he felt the cold wall collide gently with his back. Ash prowled closer and stared a lustful gaze at him. "Hmm… where should I start, I wonder?"

"A…Ash?" Ciel gasped as the man enclosed him in by placing his hands on either side of him. The heat, along with the calming scent of lavender that radiated from the man's body made him feel hazy and close his eyes in pleasure and comfort. "Please… n-no…" He whispered in a breathy voice. Ash gently brushed off his band of animal ears and unfastened the choker and let the apparel fall off with a soft thump on the bed. "I could eat you alive." The man's breath tickled his ear.

"…What are you talking a- Ahn…! S-stop...!"

Ash trailed light kisses to his cheeks, jaw line and down to his neck. Ciel moaned when he felt the man's hot and wet tongue caress his skin; especially on his neck. He felt so faint and unbearably hot that he could not even think. His hands subconsciously gripped Ash's suit and froze; whether he would push him away to stop or, pull him closer and let him in for more. The man inhaled his intoxicating scent of blooming roses; the very attribute of the boy that he desired the most.

Ciel lost control of himself and submitted to the pleasure of the man's heated kisses and gentle caresses. His hands remained stuck on Ash but they were loose in submission. "More…give me more…" He pleaded in his complete daze.

"My lord?" Ash smiled. "What is it?"

"Please..." Ciel whispered to him. "Kiss me…"

Sebastien almost jumped in shock. He circled about frantically. "_What the…! Hey! Stop it! Snap out of it!" _

Ash pulled the already drowsy boy to his body and continued to let lust take over him. He crushed his lips onto the boy's own and didn't give him a chance to breathe. He forced his tongue to pry open the boy's lips; Ciel was obliged to let him in. He moaned in pleasure with Ash's soft caresses in his mouth although, he needed to breathe so badly. His head was starting to pound painfully and tears were welling up through his closed eyes but he remained stubborn and gripped hard at his suit to hold on.

Sebastien growled. _"Ciel! What the hell is wrong with you?!"_

Ash finally pulled away and the boy drew desperate gasps of air. "Breathe while you can and take your time." He said to him in a teaseful tone while also panting for air, though he seemed to be more cool and calm. With Ciel being distracted, the man's hands went down to his shorts and started to pull it down; the action also caused the boy to slide down and lie back on the mattress.

Sebastien's eyes were full of burning jealousy and rage. He was furious upon seeing Ciel taken advantaged of. He growled. _"Hey Ciel! Snap out of it!" _His teeth bared and readied himself to attack the offender. _"Hey you! Get your filthy hands off him!" _He jumped at Ash and dragged him away from the boy by biting his suit and flinging him to the floor; though quite impossible, he managed to because the wolf's strength was fueled by rage. The man painfully fell off the bed before he could completely pull the boy's only clothing away. Sebastien furiously barked at him; his barks had snapped Ciel out of his trance. _"Grrrr… How dare you do that to him?!" _Sebastien growled at Ash. _"How dare you…!"_

Ciel's eyes were wide open; either in shock or terror. "N-no… no… no… I- I'm sorry…" He started to shake and gathered the bed sheets to cover his body in shame.

"My lord… forgive me… I…" Ash stood up and immediately apologized. "I… I do not know…"

Ciel turned away from him. "Leave me alone… please…"

"But I…"

"Just leave me!" Ciel yelled; neither in anger nor shame. "Leave me alone!"

Ash said nothing and did what he was told. A shameful silence lingered in the air. Ciel was completely stunned at what had happened. It was wrong; yet the desire remained in him. He knew beforehand that it was completely wrong, but he allowed the desire to prevail. The scent, heat, kisses and caresses meant almost everything to him and his heartbeat was so fast and pounded heavily. He felt somehow violated, but at the same time he felt that it was alright. He shook his head and covered his face with his hands. He was ashamed of himself but he did not have any urge to cry or feel anything at the mistake. Sebastien hopped and stayed beside him as if reassuring him. _"Are you alright?" _He gently nudged his arm.

"Why did I do that?" Ciel whispered. "Why?"

"_I knew it." _Sebastien remembered the meal. _"It's the food. Something's in that food that caused this mayhem."_

Minutes passed by and after regaining his composure and a stable state of mind. He got up and started to get dressed to his default clothing. He gathered his white shirt, shorts and boots and put them back on. "That was a mistake… I will not let it happen again… it will not happen again…" He muttered. He left the cat-suit lying around. He didn't feel like seeing it for the moment. He found it hard to forget what had happened.

"Young master." Angela's dreary voice sounded in the room and broke Ciel's musings. "Your bath has been prepared."

He nodded and gathered his newly prepared clothes. "Please show me the way. Sebastien, let's go." He went beside the maid and followed her path.

As he followed her, he thought he had heard her say something but perhaps it was just his thoughts.

"…Such a filthy little princess…"

* * *

**A/n: **I think I did a terrible job at that (T_T). Please excuse me! (begs) It's seriously my first time to write something like that! Anyways, we have a terribly jealous Sebby and Ciel in a cat-suit and a pervy Ash. What more can we ask for...? hmm... (muses)

Replies:

**Yana5 – **Yes, Sebby will eventually turn into that. But we all have to wait for that, ne?

**Chu chu banato – **Thanks! Now have another one! (:D)


	13. Mulier Fastidium

_**Chapter 11: Mulier Fastidium**_

It was a silent trip down to the bathroom and Ciel noted how inconveniently far it was from his room. They had passed by the dining room, the kitchen and the corridor where the eye-trap room was. They went down the small flight of stairs at the end of the corridor and Angela pushed a plate key at a mechanism beside the door of the assumed bathroom. The plate had the word 'REST' engraved on it.

Angela turned and bowed to him. "I will wait here until you finish, young master." She said in her always nonchalant tone. "Take your time."

"Ah, but I'll be alright…" Ciel said in reassurance. "You can go now…"

"Pluto is rampaging in the castle at this time, young master." She cut him off. "I'll be stationed here to keep him away from you while you bathe."

He jolted a bit. "Pluto?!"

"I am capable of handling him, young master. You need not to worry." She said. "My master has instructed me to keep you safe."

"So there really is another master besides me, then?" Ciel thought but dismissed his decision to question her about the matter. "Angela, please be careful." He said to her and proceeded to the bathroom.

Angela stroked the cheek that Ash had mercilessly beaten before. She remembered the hardness of his hand slapping her face but despite that, there was no pain. "I cannot feel pain…" She muttered with a twisted smile.

* * *

"This bathroom is communal?" Ciel commented as he first walked in into the bathroom. The first thing he saw was an abandoned pair of toilets and he noted how inconveniently they were placed next to each other and in front of the door. With that aside, the wholeness of the bathroom was quite ancient; most of the tiles on the walls and floor were already chipped off; mirrors were musty and cracked; the stall doors at the east side of the room were mostly dilapidated and its bits of wood were chipping off. But in general, the bathroom was still accommodating and functional; water was available and the lighting of the room was still functional.

He went to the west side of the room a little later. There was a shelf beside the bath tub with bottles of shampoo, bars of soap, brush and scrubbers. On the left of the shelf, a small First-Aid cabinet was hanging on the wall. A small table was under the shelf; it seemed to be a right place to set the towels and the new set of clothes. Oddly enough, there was a hair-dryer placed on that table but there seemed to be no plug in the area to make it function. "Oh well, it's already there."

He approached the bathtub and pushed the pink shower curtains aside. He saw that the tub was filled with water and petals of roses and its gentle scent was filled the air. He couldn't help but smile though a little bit uneasy. "W-well Sebastien, you go first!"

"_What?!" _The wolf looked at him questioningly.

"Go! Jump in!" Ciel walked aside and gestured to him invitingly. Sebastien ignored and just stared at him. "Don't be upset now. I'll help you bathe."

The wolf just sat there staring at him.

"Sebastien." Ciel put his hands on his hips. "Bath. NOW."

The wolf did not move. Ciel knelt to him; eye-to-eye, he glared at him a bit. "Don't make me do this."

"_Hmm… Do what? Let's see that then…" _Sebastien stubbornly remained in his place. Unexpectedly, Ciel gathered him up and carried him; though the boy staggered under his weight. _"Hey! Put me down!" _He struggled by kicking and jolting his paws but he was ungraciously deposited into the tub with half of Ciel in tow; an amount of petals and water splashed into the floor. The wolf surfaced his head and shook his fur to rid of the water. Ciel raised his head from the water and coughed. "We can't make Angela wait out for us for such a long time. Pluto might incapacitate her."

"_You worry too much." _Sebastien thought glumly. _"And besides, why do I need to take a bath?" _He sat still and watched.

"Now Sebastien, behave." Ciel brushed away the wet strands of hair away from his face. He rolled up his sleeves and took a bottle of shampoo from the shelf. "I want you to smell good. I don't want to run around with a friend smelling like rotten meat."

"_What?!" _The wolf gave him a slight glare and a snort. _"How dare you say I smell bad?!"_

"Well, pardon me." Ciel said as he applied an amount of shampoo on his hands and rubbed it on the wolf's head. "But actually, you really do."

The wolf did not comment anything most of the time. He complied with the boy's will of bathing him. Though he thought about the boy's words of him being a 'friend'. _"Me? A friend? Is that even possible?" _He thought. _"Is it possible that humans and beasts could be friends?"_

His thoughts were interrupted when Ciel splashed his face with water. He tried his best to shake away the stinging waterfrom his eyes but it remained stuck there like a stubborn flea. Ciel immediately noticed his irritation and quickly grabbed a towel. "Ah! Sorry!" He dabbed it gently at the corners of his eyes. "Open your eyes a bit and don't move."

Sebastien did as he was told and in a matter of seconds, the stinging feeling was off. The wolf blinked freely and fixed his eyes at the boy. The blue color of the boy's eyes was the one he was completely enchanted with. They were calming to stare at and besides the gentleness and innocence reflected in them, they held a unique kind of beauty he couldn't quite describe or identify at the very least. His eyes alone made his whole being completely beautiful and he felt that it was something very valuable; he couldn't afford to lose them. Nobody would ever take those eyes away from him. He will strike any and every one who would dare take those eyes away.

Ciel pulled the plug at the bottom of the tub and the water drained slowly. He reached up for the shower handle and set the water temperature to warm. The water came like jet-like drops of rain; Sebastien almost closed his eyes in comfort of the warm water splashing his body and Ciel's gentle rubbing all over his body. When the water stopped coming, he shook his fur a bit and he heard the boy laugh. "Good boy, Sebastien!" Ciel said to him. "Good boy!"

…His laughter was like music. It enchanted him; the same way the eyes had.

"Go!" The boy said to him. He jumped out of the tub and shook his fur again. Ciel laughed again. The wolf wagged his tail in delight of hearing that sweet music again.

"Stay still." Ciel rubbed him dry with one of the towels provided on the table. After a few seconds, the wolf looked like a wooly stuffed toy newly dried from the laundry shop; his black fur were all stuck and fluffed out in various directions. Ciel laughed at how silly he looked. "See? You're good as new… like my plush toy." He then hugged him and kissed his nose. "Will you wait for me right here? It's my turn now."

Sebastien was completely stunned by the hug and second kiss. He didn't know what to feel; did he appreciate it or not? He just couldn't decide at what he would really feel. _"Why do I like him like this?"_

"I won't take too long." Ciel started to unbutton his shirt. "Wait here, okay?" He undressed himself and stepped inside the tub and pulled the shower curtains to block the view. Sebastien sat and guarded the boy with alert senses.

"_Am I in love?"_

* * *

Ash rubbed the sore spot of his body he had landed on. "That demon of a hound…" He muttered in frustration. He was almost close in fulfilling his goal; the Azoth in the boy's body was emanating a strong, desirable scent of roses. The aphrodisiac he had spiked the boy's meal with proved to be an effective catalyst for the Azoth to 'ripen' immediately. But its effects are only temporary; the boy's hormones would be the only thing to develop it permanently, but that process was slow and he hasn't got much time in his race against his rival. He had to use the Azoth from the boy before Alastair could extract it from him. "Damn that maid of his! I'll get the Azoth before that old man does!"

He was somehow thankful for the wolf for stopping him from his uncontrollable desire. "It's not time yet. I must be sure that I have that boy completely under my grasp. Then I could fulfill that prophecy." He thought. "After all, human emotions are so easy to manipulate."

He walked along in the grounds a bit. Sometimes, plotting people like him should have time for leisure to be able to think clearly.

"If that wolf will continue to spoil my plans, I must eliminate him as soon as possible." He contemplated as he watched a murder of crows feed on an animal carcass lying on the ground. "And that wretched Pluto. I have to get him away from him so that he could be safe or else all my plans will go to waste."

He continued to contemplate with the most of his free time. He had to admit that acting and pretending was really tiring; it required most of his intellect to quickly think of a line and act naturally. The boy was thankfully naïve and it made his acting easier to believe in.

"If only I had been careful at that time," He thought bitterly. "Then I wouldn't have lost him to that damned man, Vincent."

* * *

Ciel stood under the shower's jet-like drops of water. He stared blankly at the wall as if he was deciding if he should do anything or not. He was contemplating at how things went so fast in his life: Firstly, his parents died; Second, he had inherited the whole castle and all properties of the Phantomhives as the sole heir; Third, a madman is constantly pursuing him in his own castle; Fourth, he has a quite stubborn wolf as a constant companion, and fifth, he was infatuated with a man that looked like his father. He had to admit that somehow, he was attracted to his own father somehow in the same way he was attracted to Ash. But there were differences between the two; Vincent was a quite serious man but he was also quite timid; while Ash was a man who liked tricks and a bit aggressive about things... in his opinion anyway.

His hand wandered to the spot where Ash had first kissed him, then he trailed his fingers down to his neck and then to his lips. His very first kiss came from a mistake; it was lust-driven and not love-driven but somehow, it was his own fault. He had, in a way, tempted the man to do it and he had requested him to kiss him. But if they had known that what they were doing and discerned how wrong it was, surely one of them had the initiative to stop? Well, Ash should've since he was the one most conscious of the situation. Ciel had to admit that his own brain wasn't functioning well to think about anything. The main question is: Why didn't Ash do anything to stop? Also, why did he become sexually active all of a sudden; being all hot and faint? He shook his head; he was only fifteen for god's sake. He was too young to prioritize sensitive things like these.

He turned the shower off and reached for the shampoo bottle. Thankfully, there was a mint scented one; he had used the raspberry scented shampoo on Sebastien and he liked things to be recognizable at first glance; who owns this and that, to avoid confusion. He wasn't acquainted well with scented soap and preferred a plain cake of soap. And besides, he had used the scented soap on Sebastien.

He bathed and scrubbed his body as fast as he could and rinsed. He had spent most of his time musing over some things; he wondered what Angela was doing now.

He heard an alerting bark from Sebastien. He wondered what it meant but for being his companion, he was alerted by something that was a threat of some kind. So he finished draining himself a bit and wrapped the towel around his waist. He was going to push the shower curtains aside when it suddenly moved aside by itself. He almost yelled in shock but it was only Angela who had pushed the curtains aside and covered his mouth by her hand to block his supposed yell.

… And speaking of her hands, her nails were black and blood drenched; her fingers looked as if they were nibbled by something. It was completely inhumane, but oddly enough Angela doesn't seem to be reacting to pain despite the injured area getting wet by drops of water. Ciel was going to comment about her nails but her hand was on his mouth, so…

"Stay quiet, young master." She said in hushed, nonchalant voice. He simply nodded and did what he was requested to. She pushed the curtains back to their original place and stepped inside the tub and forced him into the furthest corner of the area. Sebastien was barking and growling outside. "_Why here of all times?" _

"PRETTY DOLLY?!!" They heard the searching voice of Pluto loud and clear; he had stepped inside the bathroom and he was searching for Angela. "Where is YOU?!"

Ciel began to panic while Angela seemed apathetic about the situation. He wondered what made her retreat to seek a hiding place. Her fingernails seemed to be a clue but compared to the rest of her uniform and body, there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.

Sebastien knew his role and led Pluto away from the two. After a few minutes, Ciel felt that it was safe to come out now, but the maid pushed him back into his place when he took a step. "Is there something wrong, Angela?" Ciel asked.

Angela smiled at him and he didn't feel comfortable about it. "My master said he made me, the perfect woman." She spoke. "But I cannot taste, or feel pain, or experience pleasure." She withdrew her hand and gazed at him. He wondered what her words meant. He sighed as he attempted another step forward but, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back into his place. Her hands gripped his shoulders so tight that he winced. "A… Angela…!"

She tilted her head as if she was examining him closely. He blushed a light pink upon her almost incessant staring; also, the fact that he was naked, save for the towel around his waist, contributed to his feeling of pain and embarrassment. "Please let go. It… it hurts…"

But she gripped his shoulder harder; the sharp points of her nibbled nails formed bleeding dents on his skin. "The young master is entirely different." She said as she stared more deeply into his eyes. "He can feel, he can taste, he can have pleasure." Her hands lost its hold from his shoulders but she quickly gripped his neck and started to squeeze it hard. "Why are you so different?!" The boy began to panic; he could feel his windpipe being crushed and the painful constriction of his throat. He couldn't breathe and his head pounded painfully like a drum, but his body seemed immobile in fear. She bore a sadistic smile upon seeing the boy's face change in pain. "Is that how you feel pain, Ciel?"

His head hung back in a futile attempt to breathe. His vision was fading; his short gasps were broken attempts of breathing in air. He heard her say his name with disdain. "Why are you so precious?!" She crushed his neck; the sound of his neck breaking was like music to Angela's ears. "Why not me?!" Her face remained nonchalant but her fury, as well as delight, for the boy was in her entire being. "Why does he desire you and not me?!"

Ciel slipped out of consciousness with the horrifying realization that he was dying. The last thing he heard were Sebastien's furious barks and seeing Angela's twisted smile.

* * *

"_Isn't he beautiful?" An affectionate voice said…_

…_He opened his eyes a bit…_

"_Blue?"_

…_He opened his eyes more…_

"_No, that sounds like a pet's name. He's no pet."_

…_He blinked…_

"_Well, he's got heavenly blue eyes…"_

…_His eyes focused at the man affectionately watching him from behind the glass. But in all honesty, the man brought him irritation. The man kept on tapping on the glass at random hours and the annoying sound kept him from sleeping. _

"_Why not 'Ciel'?" The voice said. He chose to sleep for another time, but a tap on the glass distracted him from his sleep again… like almost at all times._

"_Hi Ciel!"_

* * *

**A/n: **Introduction to Angela's plot so that it will be easier to transition from Pluto-stalker mode to Angela-stalker mode. Gotta go!

Replies:

**LovelyWickedDescet – **Sebby will turn human someday; just wait for the right time. Ok, another hint for you: What is Viscount Druitt's other name? In the anime, Sebastian mentions his name (in Episode 4 to be specific). I think the circus leader's name is Joker? Am not sure either(^^o). Anyways, have a tart!

**Yana5 – **Oh no, Ash will keep on trying to do something to poor Ciel and the poor boy is too innocent to know something. But never fear, Sebby will keep him at bay… unfortunately, not always…

**Chu chu banato – '**Perverted' is my point indeed! Ok, you could take a break from those tarts now. Hmm… how about some Grasshopper Diet Tea to melt those unnecessary fats down? (:D)

Thank you for **ToonyTwilight, Kaneriya, Lunarkitty15, xXWhiteButterflyXx, LovelyWickedDescet **and** HaloAngsta **for alerting. Just in case I missed to thank somebody, thank you for the people who have Alerted the story. Have an alchemic cookie and a cup of tea for all of you! You really make me happy!


	14. Sacramentum

_**Chapter 12: Sacramentum**_

"No… no… let go…" Ciel stirred in his sleep quite violently; he tossed and turned his head, his arms trashed as if he was fighting off an invisible enemy, and he pleaded in slurry words. His last memory before he had fainted surged in his mind; Angela was strangling him and he was struggling for his life. Sebastien noticed his agonizing delusion and took the privilege of waking him up by licking his face. _"Come on! Come on! Wake up!" _He thought worriedly.

"HELP!" Ciel sat up awake and aimed a kick at nothing (which Sebastien dodged). He coughed and gasped for deprived air. It took a moment for him to realize that his struggle was only a dream. He sighed as he wiped his face from cold sweat and wolf saliva. "Good thing it was only a dream…" He closed his eyes in relief. "Thanks for waking me up, Sebastien…"

Sebastien nudged his hand in thanks. Ciel gave a reassuring nod at him only to wince in pain; a sharp pain had suddenly entered his neck. The pain made him wonder, "So… I was… really strangled then?" He recalled a breaking sound in his memory. "Angela broke my neck… but how is it that I…?" He ran a hand over his 'supposed' broken neck. "…Why am I still alive?"

Then Ash's statement resounded in his mind: "I'm curious why the young master is able to recover from certain injuries with a speed beyond normal…"

"Hmm…" Ciel frowned as he continued to stroke his neck. "I could recover from an injury at a speed beyond normal… And I thought recovering from a broken leg in two days was normal." He said as he recalled the day when he fell off from the stage during their school play rehearsal. "I think… my classmates usually took a month or two when they break their legs while, I only took a day or two. Did mom and dad ever notice this about me?"

Sebastien looked at him in curious eyes. _"Is that why you're still alive despite the fact that crazy maid snapped your neck?" _He thought. _"I've seen humans with broken necks die on the spot."_

"But what's important is that I'm alive." Ciel said to Sebastien. "I… I don't want to die just yet…"

"_Whoever wants to die?!" _Sebastien nudged his cheek. _"I don't want you to die. I won't forgive myself if I let you die."_

Ciel recalled Angela's nonchalant but somehow, words of fury: "Why does he desire you and not me?!"

"Was she talking about Ash?" The boy gulped. "Does she like him too?"

An awkward silence prevailed.

"I'd better stay away…" He decided. "…From both of them. I need to think. I can't sleep with the thought of Angela trying to kill me out of jealousy…" He jumped out of bed and almost stumbled upon landing on the floor. He looked at his feet and he noticed that his boots were different and sturdier than his first one. "Eh? Who changed my clothes?" He felt around his long sleeved, white, cotton shirt with embroidery around the collar and chest area; the same black, silk cravat and diamond broach was on his neck; black, buckled straps were wrapped on both of his arms; suspenders were linked to his black shorts, though he was slightly dismayed that they were still a bit tight; he still had the black stockings but his boots were slightly different than his first one; the boots were no longer lace-up in style but it had straps with buckles lining the front. The boots still had heels though, but this time they were metal along with the front; making it efficient for kicking. "When did I change my clothes? I don't remember changing… I just…" He blushed as he looked at himself at the mirror. "…Fainted… almost naked…"

"_That crazy maid put on your clothes." _Sebastien joined him in looking at the mirror. _"Fortunately she isn't as perverted as SOMEONE out there." _He thought grumpily.

Ciel rolled his eyes in disappointment at his reflection. "Why is it that I look feminine in every outfit I get in?" He put his hands on his hips. "I just don't like the idea of people mistaking me as a girl. I get that often… most of the time, even. Guys and girls sneak love letters in my locker everyday. It's annoying really."

"_What's wrong with you?" _Sebastien snorted. _"You're beautiful. Why be disappointed about it?... Wait… I did not just think that…"_

All of a sudden, Ciel clapped. "Since we have a lot of spare time, why don't we go to that mansion the note said?" He hurried to his bedside table drawer and searched for the note and key he had deposited there before taking a bath. A few seconds later, he found the note and reread it to refresh his memory about it. "Use the key included with this note and retrieve the Lunar Refractor inside the Study… Hmm, let's see…" He examined the tiny key accompanied with the note. "I wonder where the Study could be?"

"_The Study?" _Sebastien reached up to tug at the cuff of his sleeve. _"No problem! I'll lead you there!"_ He barked accordingly and went to the bedroom door. Ciel gently laughed. "You know the way, boy? Go!" He pocketed the note and key and opened the door for the wolf to lead him.

* * *

He followed the wolf to the balcony-hallway. He realized that nighttime had fallen all around the castle since bats had started taking refuge in the arcs and the dark corners of the balcony-hallway. Nevertheless, the place was a bit bright as it was in the morning; the full moon cast its light like sunlight, though not as bright as sunlight, the moonlight was efficient enough to be a light source. And besides, the moonlight gave a magical and solemn feel of the castle. Ciel and Sebastien felt a supernatural power radiating from the moon and they felt energized by the mere sight of it. Sebastien especially, was the most affected of this monthly phenomenon. This was the time where wolf packs gather and 'sing' songs in admiration to the moon. But in his entire lifetime, he always sang alone; no wolf pack accepted him since, he was different from them. But he didn't get upset at being different; he was proud of being different. It never mattered if he had company or not.

"The moon is lovely isn't it, Sebastien?" Ciel said to him as he stopped and leaned on the ledge to look at the moon. "It's magical."

Sebastien tottered back to his side. _"Should we get going?" _He thought irritably.

All of a sudden, faint howls sounded from a distance. Ciel edged a little to listen to the sound; Sebastien cocked his ear from side to side to adjust his hearing. He heard wolves and they were singing. A wolf must've assumed leadership in a pack and its followers are celebrating its superiority and triumph. He wanted to sing, too. But he knew he had no relationship with that pack or whatsoever, so he kept quiet and listened.

"Sounds like… wolves." Ciel realized a while later when the howls became loud enough for him to hear. He listened to the song of the wolves and it made him reflect about Sebastien's wellbeing. Wolves live together, like family. There are lone wolves, but they don't really survive for long. "It's difficult to live when you're out in the world all alone." He muttered to himself.

"_Hm?" _Sebastien glanced at him. _"Did you say something?"_

"Do you have a family, Sebastien?" The boy asked him all of a sudden. The wolf stared at him dully with his crimson eyes. "Do you miss them?"

"_My father raised me up." _He snorted as he remembered his life in the wild as a tiny pup. _"And, I'm thankful that some men shot him. He gave me a hell of a life." _He tottered slowly to some place else and sat. _"Why are we talking about matters like these?"_

Ciel followed him and knelt in front of him until they were face to face. "I know it's against your nature to be domesticated like this. You were born from the wild and that's your home."

"_What are you saying?"_

"I… I apologize on behalf of Ash and the others." He said. The howls of the wolves resonated throughout the dark night. "I must apologize to you too."

"_What the…" _Sebastien's train of thoughts stopped when he felt the boy's warm body close over him. He felt his eyes come slowly to a close in comfort of the boy's embrace. _"…Why are you doing this?"_

"Once we set foot into that abandoned mansion, I'll find the way out." Ciel said to him along with gentle assuring caresses on the back of the wolf's head. "Then, I'll let you go for your sake."

"_What?! Let me go?!" _Sebastien protested inwardly, but he didn't want to break the warmth of the embrace, so he kept still. _"Why?!"_

"I'm doing that for you. I have taken you away from your home for a long time." Ciel broke the embrace but he continued to stroke the wolf's head and looked into his eyes. "You don't belong here with me. I've put you in danger for too many times. It would be really selfish of me if I keep you hanging around with me for too long."

"_It's not your fault…"_ Sebastien looked back at him with eyes of steely conviction. _"I will protect you, whether you like it or not."_

"Once we've found the way out from the mansion, I'll let you go." Ciel said. A tear had escaped from his eye but he didn't know it. "You belong to the other wolves." He said as he broke his contact with the wolf. "We can't be together like this."

"_You may let go of me, but I will not let go of you." _Sebastien barked. _"I swear this in the midst of the full moon; I will never leave your side and I'll protect you, even at the expense of my life." _

Ciel finally realized that he was crying and wiped away the tears that were slowly flowing from his eyes. "I won't forgive myself if I lose somebody I love, again."

The wolves of the wild howled another song. This time, it seemed a mournful song but at the same time, it was comforting like a lullaby.

"Shall we go?" Ciel forced a smile and gestured him to continue, but the wolf sat stubbornly still. _"If you're commanding me to continue with this note thing and letting me go into the wild afterwards, then I'd rather stay here!" _

The boy realized his stubbornness and sighed. "If you won't do it, then I'll do it myself." He said gently and went down the balcony-hallway. His mind was so confused; part of him didn't want the wolf to go and the other wanted him to stay. "If he'd be killed for staying with me, he'd be better off away from me. At least he would be alive." He thought as he searched for the Study alone.

The wolf had no choice but to follow him since he had made his oath to the moon. _"I'll be on your side, whether you like it or not."_

* * *

**A/n: **Sappy moment and a short chapter again... Right! Again, I'll take a break from writing this. Give me again 4 weeks of patience to write more chapters...

Oh noes! The English to Latin online translator had technical difficulties! How am I gonna translate the chapter titles to Latin now? Looks like I have to use a Latin dictionary. Pardon me if the Latin is grammatically incorrect; I don't know Latin...

Replies:

**Yana5 – **No, not because Ash has gender preferences. He is long before obsessed to somebody else (if you know what I mean) even though Angela was already interested in him. Poor girl…

**ToonyTwilight – **It's nice to hear that you got interested. But I infused some of my own touches in this fic that may be completely different in the original concept of Haunting Ground. Anyways, thanks a lot. Now have a tart! (:D)

Thanks to **Daisy-san **and **YuukixZero16-in-yellow **for faving!


	15. Luna Veneficus

_**Chapter 13: Luna Veneficus**_

Ciel checked every door he encountered in the hallway. Every single one of them was locked, except for the one before the forked hallway. He hadn't checked that one earlier, since his attention was averted by Pluto's shadow. He examined the door closely; there was a metal plate on the door with the label of 'Study' on it. "Makes it easier to find it, then." He pushed the door and went inside. There wasn't anything extraordinary for him to see yet since the room had its lights off. He groped around the wall to his left and felt a beaded string of sorts. He trailed up his hand on the string slowly and felt his hand collide with something connected to it. "Might as well pull it." So, he did.

The room revealed itself through its dim and blinking lamps. The study composed of bookcases that dominated all of the walls; there were stacks and towers of books littered about on the floor, desks and on the cushion armchair. Papers full of computations, formulas and descriptions were stuck on the bookcases like post-its; mostly in the area of the study tables. There was a huge volume of an open book on display on a pedestal at the center of the room. He examined it, but he could understand nothing since the language was either Latin or Greek or depending what his comprehension told him. "Nevermind…" He shrugged and ignored the huge tome. "I've got to find the Lunar Refractor the note was speaking about." He looked around the room's every nook and cranny, but he did not find any strange item. "What does this tiny key do?"

Meanwhile, Sebastien patrolled around the door; he could smell a very faint whiff of Pluto. But no doubt, he was still very far away from them. He sniffed at the air some more and the tiny whiff disappeared, but still it would not hurt to be cautious. _"Best not to take your time, Ciel." _He remarked as he watched the boy pause in the middle of the room and tilt his head in thought. _"That Pluto might come here unawares."_

"Hm… If this key is not for that door," Ciel pondered as he stared at the tiny key intently. "Perhaps this is for those drawers?" He approached the nearest desk and checked a lock drawer. He fitted the key into the similarly tiny keyhole and turned the key. He smiled in satisfaction upon the smoothness of the turning of the key; indicating that he had fitted the key into the right keyhole. The drawer unlocked and he pulled it open. He found a rusty, conical shaped object; about the size of his hand, lying inside it. He examined it; the circular base of the object was made of mirror. "Perhaps this is the Lunar Refractor that note was talking about." He muttered. "It's kinda heavy though. I might lose this if I keep on holding it like this." He tested the key to the other drawers; he searched for an efficient container from all of the drawers. "Isn't there anything that would let me carry any stuff that I'd pick up?"

Sebastien barked at him. _"Hurry up, will you?"_

"Coming, coming." Ciel replied with a dismissive tone. He was slightly disappointed since he hadn't found anything, let alone a small plastic container. He checked the last drawer and found two folded pieces of paper. Allowing his natural curiosity to conquer, he picked the first one up and opened it. The paper seems to contain a cartographic chart; Ciel studied it. "Phantomhive Estate?!" He almost yelled upon reading the header of the chart. "The estate is this huge?!" Ciel's eyes scanned the huge land area the map indicated.

"_What about it?" _Sebastien glanced and curiously approached him to look at the piece of paper. _"What about the estate being so huge? And what in the world is an 'estate'?"_

"Look, Sebastien." Ciel showed the map to the wolf and pointed a small yellow area at the map. "The castle alone only occupies a small portion of the whole Phantomhive estate, compared to the entire forest land here... Hey, there's a village nearby too..." His pointing finger swirled around the green area, which dominated most of the map. "By the way, there's a… tower in the middle of a lake here." He looked down at the map again and took note of the dark blue, circular area with the label 'Water Tower' indicated on the map. "… And a certain house just beside the tower." He looked at the white area indicated 'House of Truth'. "It's almost unbelievable. I think I can't manage this whole territory alone."

"_Is an 'estate' some kind of a territory?" _Sebastien didn't understand all what the boy had just said; it was meant for human comprehension. _"Really, this boy needs more human friends other than the mad people here." _

Ciel returned the cartographic chart and picked up the other folded piece of paper. This time, the paper showed a series of maps stapled together; the first one showed the locations inside the castle; the second page showed the locations inside the mansion; the third page showed the paths inside the forest, though in general, it was useless since the map contained broken paths and a multitude of green areas; the fifth page contained locations in the Water Tower; and the fifth page contained locations inside the House of Truth, though it mostly showed inconsistent rooms and locations. Nevertheless, he decided that the maps were essential in exploring the whole estate in his spare time. He folded the maps again and put it in his pocket. "Let's go, Sebastien."

"_Finally!"_

* * *

Ciel consulted the map to trace his way to the grounds entrance of the tower beyond the balcony. "See? We won't be separated just because you can't climb the ladder." He told the wolf as he found the entrance. "There's always a way for us to be always together."

The boy's latter words rang clear inside the wolf's mind. Some kind of hope sparked inside him that somehow, whatever Ciel was planning of letting him go into the forest; the plan won't work. _"But still, fate would dictate if we're meant to be alongside each other 'till the very end." _

Ciel himself was also affected by his own words. "Will I manage to drive him away from me if I have already made a bond with him?" Both of them stared into each other's eyes; in perfect timing, per se. The boy realized that Sebastien's crimson eyes had that glint of a strange conviction that he hadn't seen before. But perhaps it was only the moonlight making his eyes glisten. He blinked in dismissal and turned his attention back to opening the door.

He was amazed at what he saw inside. In the morning, the basement of the tower looked like a dark, ordinary room with Lunar Panels. Now that the time was nighttime, the Lunar Panels were reflecting rays of light that flowed out from a window above the mechanisms. With the efficient illumination, he got a view of what the Lunar Panels looked like. The Lunar Panels looked like stage lights; except that it was entirely made of stone with Nordic Runes engraved all over it as a design. "Adjust the panels so that they may shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel." He took out the note and read the phrase. "Shine the moonlight…" He held out his hand through the moonlight reflected by one of the Lunar Panels. "So, this is the moonlight. To think that the moon is capable of bringing a bright light like this, I must've underestimated it."

"_And I thought wolves are the only ones capable of admiring the moon." _Sebastien caught a glimpse of the boy's fascinated face and the way his fingers played around in the moonlight. _"Humans usually take nature for granted and fail to see its full beauty. Why are you so different from them, Ciel?"_

"Adjust the panels so that they may shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel." Ciel recited as he focused back to his objective. "So, where could that door be? It certainly isn't the one we have just entered." He took off and explored the area thoroughly. With the moonlight illuminating the place, he didn't have any difficulties in finding the mentioned door. He saw a portion of the wall that was completely different from the others, which were made of inlaid stones. The portion of the wall that he had just found was made of metal; the rust forming on it was enough proof. The metal was divided into three sections; an engraved design was present in the middle section and some of its designs extended to the other two sections. The design had three crescent moons with lines connecting them to a triangle and additional lines connecting them to the central design, which was a crystal ball-like symbol. He traced a finger on the engravings and recited the phrase from the note again. "Shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel…" He faced the Lunar Panels again. "There are three crescents in the design, so," He looked back to the rest of the room behind him. "Those crescents must represent these panels. So, there should be another Lunar Panel here."

"_It's right there!" _Sebastien turned his head to the Lunar Panel almost hidden by the spiral stairs. _"Can't you see it?" _The wolf watched in boredom and disappointment as the boy searched for the panel. But he gave consideration to it; humans and beasts are almost different from each other. Humans could not see in the dark the way wolves and felines can't.

"Ah, there it is!" Ciel called out and sighed as he finally spotted the panel. "Why didn't you tell me that it was there all along, Sebastien?"

"_Do things yourself." _The wolf snorted in reply. _"If you want to get rid of me so much, why should I help you?" _He thought glumly.

Ciel inspected the Lunar Panel closely; the moonlight was being reflected to its hollow center by the other Lunar Panels. He took a look at the Lunar Refractor he had painstakingly carried the entire time. "Perhaps, this should go here." He muttered as he inserted the refractor into the hollow area of the panel. Moonlight instantly bounced off from the mirror and cast its light towards the metal portion of the wall at the back of the room; directly to the design at the middle. The metal portions emitted a low rumble and after a few seconds, the portions slid to the side; revealing an entrance to somewhere. He consulted the note again. "Adjust the panels so that they may shine the moonlight on the door towards the chapel." He said as he approached the now open 'doorway'. "What a strange way to use moonlight as a key to a door, don't you think?" He turned to Sebastien. "Let's go, boy!"

The pair followed the corridors inside the strange doorway closely. As they followed through further, Ciel noted that the corridor was filled with ankle deep water. "Probably some problem with the plumbing." They sloshed their way further; the water was increasing its level and the corridor was getting darker. "Probably the moonlight cannot reach here anymore." He remarked as he made his way through the now waist-deep water. Sebastien didn't seem to mind the water much; he held his head high up and continued to walk along, though the water was already neck deep, considering his level. _"Why are you shivering?" _The wolf commented as he looked at the boy's anxious face as the water increased levels. Nevertheless, he continued to dog-paddle.

They finally came upon a stair case that spiraled on the way down. Ciel gulped; the entire staircase was already submerged deep into the water and considering how really dark it was, he couldn't even dare to continue and dive down there. "Eh… water…" He stared at the deep pool of water; his eyes wide in complete anxiety and his breath taking sharp gasps. "I… I don't like it…"

"_What? Scared of water?" _Sebastien barked mockingly. _"You're not scared of taking a bath before. Why be scared now? Just think of this as another bath if you're so scared."_

"Should we go back?" Ciel looked at him with fear in his eyes. "Perhaps… perhaps there's another way… or… or…"

"_Why are you panicking?" _Sebastien ignored his eyes. _"It's just water!"_ He playfully splashed some water to the boy's face in an attempt to knock some serious sense into him but apparently, it terrified the boy more and put up his hands to his face. "…STOP!" Ciel yelled fearfully as more water splashed at his face. "Please…!"

"_What the…?" _Sebastien nudged at his arm and barked. _"What in hell's name are you terrified of? It's just water!" _The wolf's mocking comments were stopped when he heard the boy's hitching gasps of breath. "I'm scared…" Ciel whispered. "I… I don't know… why… why…?" He stuttered almost incoherent sentences as his breathe continued to hitch in intervals and hidden tears leaked from his eyes. "I'm scared of water… why… why… why?!" He closed his eyes shut; visions or… dreams, maybe, of himself drowning and struggling inside the closed container flooded in his mind. He had dreamed of it before for many times already, even before his parents' death. The pain of his lungs burning with the unwelcome water he had taken in from the dream lingered as if it was real. Sometimes, he wondered if it was a forgotten glimpse of his life. But his father continued to reassure him that it was only a bad dream. Nevertheless, he was curious why those dreams always come back to haunt him in his sleep. Because of those dreams, he had the fear of being submerged in water; an aquaphobic, to say the least.

The wolf gave him another nudge at the arm. _"Come on. Get over it."_

"Right…" Ciel wiped his tears away. "This… this isn't the… the time… to be… s… scared…"

"_Now you're talking."_

"But… but… I…I'm n-not… sure if… I could see… what's d-down… th-there…" Ciel sniffed. "B-but… n-no matter…" He inhaled deeply to ease his anxious breathing. "I…I'll do it… f-for… S-sebastien."

"_For me…" _The wolf blinked. He was quite disappointed for the boy's objective in some way. But for seeing the boy show bravery for facing his fear, he admired the boy more.

"T-there s-should be some way to drain this… w-water." Ciel said. "W-wait here, boy."

Sebastien just had this instinct that made him quite uneasy…

"D-don't worry." Ciel said to him with a smile with a reassuring (wet)rub on the head. "I'll come back for y-you."

"_Well, DO come back!" _Sebastien nudged his hand in reply. _"Seeing the way you act before, something bad might happen to you."_

"I'll c-come back. I really w-will." The boy said as he looked back into the deep, dark pool of water before him. "Now, I hope those swimming moves from those movies we watch c-could work."

"_What are you talking about now?" _The wolf remarked as he watched the boy dive into the water. _"But I hope you know what you're doing…" _He floated about a bit and waited.

He sniffed at the air; the scent of Pluto was coming in. And it was fast approaching. _"Oh please! Of all places…!"_

* * *

Ciel felt a bursting pain in his chest and a stinging pain in his eyes; the same pain he always experienced when he had those dreams and waking up from it. Being submerged in real water, the pain was worst and his whole body was stinging cold compared to those dreams. But he had to endure this pain for a while though; it was his first time to dive into the water like this. Upon discovering his phobia, his mom and dad talked to the teacher to excuse him from taking swimming lessons with his classmates. So, he didn't have any experiences 'deep into the water'-related from then on… yes, even using the tub. That's why he allowed Sebastien to go take a bath first since…

…Nevermind that. He had something to do.

He paddled his arms and legs the way the people in movies do whenever there's a swimming-scene involved. The water was stinging his eyes but he kept them open to see whatever he was encountering; though he couldn't see anything because it was completely dark. He continued to paddle forwards and downwards since the staircase descended in a spiral.

His head was starting to pound stronger. So far, so good, but he had to hurry.

He paddled further and was amazed at the area before him; he had gotten used to the pain so his eyes were open. There were stained glass windows all over the walls and the most amazing about it was that, the moonlight shone through them. The moonlight displayed the colorful designs of bright angels with light colors accentuating the patterns; therefore providing the area with colorful illumination. He paddled further and the enlightening color changed into a pale colors and then to dark colors. Further and further down, the black and violet color changed into a menacing, blood-red. The designs also transitioned into malevolent creatures; demons to be specific. He was distracted momentarily at a design he happened to glance upon: the window displayed a dark, blood red horned demon with eagle like wings folded in a way to cover its body and face; thorns of roses were wrapped around its neck, wrists and ankles. The feathers from the folded wings concealed most of its vicious but almost solemn face; save for its left eye. The demon's eye had some sort of star-shaped design etched into it; the detail of the lines proved to be exquisite and detailed despite the material of stained-class. "Whoever made it must've wanted to emphasize the pentagram design than the rest." He remarked.

His eyes stung, but quite bearable. He had to hurry.

He took his attention away from the design and paddled through the water with larger strokes. His mind was quickly going into panic; so far, there wasn't anything to make the water exit and he couldn't hold his breath much longer. "A door or anything to break the window… anything!" He paddled faster.

His breath was about to escape from him. He had to hurry.

He saw an outline of a closed door. A rush of excitement made him paddle towards the door faster. He quickly grasped the door's handle and twisted it. "Since the door's hinges are visible in my point of view." He thought as he placed his foot at the wall; just beside the door's frame. "I should pull the door towards me." He pulled the door; his foot at the wall provided him with extra leverage. But since the door was deep under the water, the pressure made it hard for him to pull the door.

His breath escaped in a stream of bubbles. He forced his mouth shut and his will to ignore the urge to breathe. There was simply not enough time. He positioned himself in a way to face the knob sideways; he planted both of his feet at the wall and used both of his hands to pull harder. He added more force at his heels and arms for more leverage still, but the door remained unmoved.

He could not force his mouth to be closed anymore. His breath escaped in a large mass of bubbles and his head seemed to be splitting in pain. He held on to his remaining will not to breathe. He continued to pull at the door, but it remained stubborn.

His will broke and he uncontrollably inhaled an amount of water. His lungs burned in pain; he coughed and forced his mouth shut but his coughing always broke his lips open. He let go of the knob and clamped his nose and mouth in a futile attempt to close them. But he continued to inhale water, even if it was against his will. He could hear the loud and painful pounding of his heart and head. His vision spun and faded into darkness. He felt limp; his body floated hopelessly.

…His situation was awfully similar to his dreams. He was hopelessly trapped deep down into the water. Every time he struggled to keep on surviving, he always ended up succumbing to the pain and darkness.

"Am I going to die?" He thought as his eyes went half-lidded. "Just like this?"

He was about to resign to the pain and darkness when a warm touch grasped him by his shoulders and back. Whoever it was, it pulled him close. A pair of hands held his face and warm lips locked unto his own. A warm muscle pried his lips open a bit and gently coaxed him to open his lips more. Though he felt sharp canines poking at the corners of his lips, it didn't matter; he just gave in. He felt warm air passing through his mouth and filling his lungs. His hands groped through the water in hope of grasping something solid; he wanted to hold on to this stranger. It was his only hope to survive in his living nightmare. He felt some sort of fabric and firmly clung to it; making the stranger's body press close to him for a moment. He felt life and vivid consciousness slowly coursing throughout his body once more. "I'm sorry! It's now or never!" He thought as he pulled away from the stranger and went back to pulling the door once more. He resumed his previous position before the door and pulled.

He felt the stranger join him in his predicament. Warm hands clasped his own and pulled on the door together. The door finally moved a bit; both of them continued to pull. They can't afford to stop now.

The door finally opened wide and water gushed out to the door thus, forming a current. The current was strong enough to suck both of them in. They held on together as the current threw them into places unknown. Ciel held his acquired breath hard; he won't lose this air again. The stranger held on to him quite painfully; the grip on his wrist was too tight but he understood it, seeing the situation they're in.

He felt concrete slam on the back of his head and he fell on an assumed floor. The stranger gripping his hand took off and he heard desperate gasps of air. The water must have drained to somewhere and wherever he is now, his water problems are finally over.

The blow struck him stunned and almost numb. He felt a hand grasp his wrist again. He attempted to look up but his body seemed unresponsive. "Th-thank… you…" He raised his eyes up, but all he could see was a white blur in a dark background. "Thank… you for… saving… me…" He said in a hushed voice and passed out.

* * *

**A/n: **Muhahaha! I'm BACK. Curse you 3rd Quarter, you've tortured me!!! You halted my writing! That one month could've written a lot of chapters! Grrr!!! I'm still stuck at chapter 16 of this! Angela should've chased Ciel and Sebby by now! Arrgghhh!!!

Listen to me rant...

Anyways, the Kuroshitsuji Musical inspired me. Go watch it in YouTube while it's still there!!! Belated Happy Birthday Ciel! If only my quarterly exams wasn't scheduled on your birthday, perhaps I would be able to draw a pic for you but... (T_T).

Anyways, Merry Christmas to all of you!!! I'll update with all my best.

Replies:

**Yana5 – **In one of the episodes of Kuroshitsuji (I'm not sure what episode it is, but I'm sure that he's fighting with Grell and Madam Red was just recently killed) Sebby had this dialogue that he 'made a vow in the presence of the moon to protect his master'… something like that. Thus that made me write that vowing scene in this fic. Maybe I have to check that episode again; it might be my fantasies working.

**ToonyTwilight – **Thanks a lot! Now have a tart and a cup of tea! My treat! (:D)

**Chu chu banato – **Glad you liked the tea even though the concoction was odd… I guess I'm playing too much American McGee's Alice. But anyways, many thanks!


	16. Lady Iustitia

_**Chapter 14: Lady Iustitia**_

… _He was inside a room full of vials, pots and papers and unintelligible graffiti on the walls. There was an odd mixture of fumes lingering on the air, too. He saw a man working on a table; taking vials and writing something on the papers before him._

… _He remained silent and his curious eyes wandered throughout the area. But he remained in his place either in shyness or fear._

"_Is there something you need, Ciel?" The man asked. He could not see the man's face because the man wasn't facing him._

… _He remained silent and stared at him._

"_Don't hesitate to ask, Ciel." The man coaxed him. "Is there something you need?"_

"_Y-yes…" He answered demurely; twiddling fingers and his cheeks burning into a shade of pink._

"_What is it?" The man turned from his desk work and faced him._

…_He stared at the man's face. "I need your name. Please?"_

* * *

"…Please…?" Ciel groaned unconsciously as he felt something warm and damp being wiped on his cheek. Sebastien didn't stop licking his face until he was sure that the boy was awake.

"_What are you pleading for?" _The wolf watched him stir. _"Did that Pluto do anything to you?"_

Ciel's eyes finally opened a bit. "S-sebastien?" He looked to his sides, but he couldn't see anything but pitch black darkness.

"_Who else should it be?" _The wolf shook the wetness from his fur. The boy responded immediately to the sprinkle of cold water on his face and jolted, completely awake. "Uurghh… my head." He sat up and gently rubbed the spot where his head heavily collided with the concrete. "Just knocked myself out. No need to be worried about." He groaned. "Sebastien, where are you? I can't see you…"

Sebastien went close to his side and it alerted the boy to his presence. But Ciel couldn't see the wolf's exact position. He groped around the dark until his hands touched some fur. He didn't let go of that fur; he realized that it was his only way to know the wolf's whereabouts. The wolf's fur was as black as dark and the environment made him completely invisible, save for the pair of glistening orbs he could see in the dark. "Ah, there you are…"

"_Hey that's my tail!" _The wolf protested. He growled to show his annoyance but Ciel didn't let go despite the wolf's threats. "Whatever part of you I'm holding, Sebastien." The boy apologized. "I'm sorry but…"

Sebastien stopped growling.

"Please don't leave me." Ciel pleaded. "I-it's dark… I can't see you."

"_Scared of water first." _Sebastien commented. But if he could roll his eyes, he could've done it. _"And now, you're scared of the dark?"_

"Please don't leave me…" Ciel gripped his tail and let his eyes survey the area; though he couldn't see anything, no matter how hard he squinted. He saw nothing but pitch black surroundings; he couldn't see the floor he was sitting on either, but he could hear the echoes of dripping water. "What is this place?"

Sebastien barked. _"Fine. I almost forgot that humans can't see much in the dark." _His eyes surveyed the area since his eyes had the ability to see at the dark. There was a huge pit in front of them and another step from the boy would make them fall to an unknown fate. The entire hall was empty but it had twisting paths around some pits on the floor and he knew that the boy's survival depended heavily on him. _"The door's a long way to go. I'm sure I can do this!" _He barked at the boy, alerting him to follow him. He started walking; though he was uncomfortable with him pulling his tail. He looked back to make sure that the boy wasn't to close to the edge of the pit._ "Stay close to me. This place is as dangerous as it looks."_ He walked with the boy in tow as carefully as he can.

… They made it past the first pit.

… The second…

… The third… so far, so good…

… The fourth…

… The fifth…

… Almost over the sixth…

He heard a scraping sound. His instincts told him that something bad would happen, so he moved on quickly…

"SEBASTIEN!" Ciel's scream echoed and the hand gripping his tail disappeared. "HELP!"

"_Oh no!" _The boy had fallen to a pit when a part of the floor crumbled when he had stepped on the area near the pit. The wolf immediately turned around and darted at the cuff of the boy's sleeve before it completely disappeared into the darkness. Sebastien bit at the fabric hard. _"I mustn't let go!" _He hesitated to pull the fabric in fear of tearing it but the boy's weight was pulling him down. His paws skidded because of the damp floor but he kept on stepping back to retain his place even though his efforts were futile. Ciel tried pulling himself up; his other hand gripped the ledge and pushed his foot at a wall to support his body. But the wall was slippery and his hands were dangerously slipping from its grip. "Don't let go, Sebastien! Don't let go!" He cried in panic as his other hand desperately reached for another futile grip.

"_Dammit!" _Sebastien cursed inwardly as he instantly decided to bite the boy's arm. _"I'm sorry but I have to do this!" _He quickly lunged at the boy's arm and bit it; he made sure that his bite would secure the whole arm but he was uneasy about the part that he was going to hurt him. The boy's arm was thin and delicate that it could break if he sunk his teeth further into it. _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please hold on!"_ He almost cringed and gave up upon hearing the boy's pained gasps but at least, the boy wasn't fighting back. Ciel managed to pull up, along with Sebastien's help. The boy climbed up immediately on the floor and clutched the arm that the wolf had bitten. "It hurts…" He gasped as he felt his wound as if it burned. He squeezed his arm and took in deep breaths to ease his own pain. Sebastien felt guilty as he tasted blood on his tongue; he had hurt the only person he had vowed to protect from harm. He didn't know how to show remorse but he gave the boy a gentle lick at his cheek and he whined in apology. _"I have hurt you. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."_

"I'm not mad at you, Sebastien." Ciel smiled and gasped as he continued gripping his wounded right arm. "You only did that to save me."

Sebastien looked for his eyes; he wanted to ask for forgiveness by sincerely looking at his eyes but the barrier of the darkness and his inability to speak made his intention only complied to whining in apology and wagged his tail at the boy's hands' direction. _"Get my tail and let's go!"_

Ciel breathed in deeply to regain his composure and grabbed the wolf's tail the second his fingers brushed some fur. "I'll be more careful this time, Sebastien." He said with conviction. "I'll try my best not to be a burden to you anymore."

Sebastien walked on with all the caution he had in mind. _"You're not a burden to me."_

Both of them walked on; tension and fear in the air rose as they progressed. After an agonizing venture, they finally reached the door, and as if on cue, light appeared on the area of the doorway. The sudden glare of the light almost blinded both of them. Ciel shielded his eyes and Sebastien closed his but they opened their eyes a few minutes later when they had gotten used to the light. Ciel looked for the wolf immediately and gave him a tight embrace and a kiss on the nose upon seeing him. "Thank you, Sebastien!"

The wolf snuggled into the boy's affectionate and grateful embrace. At some moment, he wished he was human so that he could kiss the boy back and hold his hand so that they may never separate like what happened in the darkness previously. Ciel let go of him and sighed comfortably. "I'll give you something worthy after this." He said as he rubbed his head affectionately. "I promise."

"_No." _Sebastien stared at him. _"Your kiss was enough." _But even though the boy didn't display hard feelings from being hurt by him, the wolf was worried for his arm. Sometimes, he heard of humans dying from animal bites; humans usually say their possible cause of death was bacterial infection. _"He said he could recover from injuries fast. But I can't be so sure of that."_

Ciel opened the door; his action caused him to wince since he had used his injured arm. The wolf couldn't shrug off the guilty feeling; the smell of the boy's blood was strong though, the smell of it was kind of odd. Usually, human blood had this awful, fishy smell while the boy had blood smelling of roses. _"What kind of human are you, I wonder?" _He thought as he followed the boy through the door.

* * *

"…The way to the chapel…" Ciel said as he looked in awe at the area before him. The area was flooded by light; colorful stained glass windows decorated the walls and crystal and brass chandeliers adorned the ceiling. Rows of polished kneeling benches surrounded the aisle leading to the altar in the very front. "Sebastien, this is it!" He smiled, though in slight pain. "This is the chapel. The key is at the goddess' statue. We're almost there!" He followed the aisle but despite his great anticipation to get the key, he walked slowly to see the interesting designs of the stained glass surrounding the entire chapel. He started looking at the design of the stained glass at the wall just beside the door they had entered; the designs showed a woman with long black hair and blue eyes. She wore white robes and she looked beautiful and elegant even in her simple clothing. The stained glass showed scenes concerning the woman in sequence: at the start, she was happily together with men and other women; the bright colors of the stained glass matched its joyful theme. Ciel continued to walk forward; the woman's smile slowly fades into a distressed expression, along with the change of the vibrant colors into gloomy moods. The woman seemed to be disappointed upon seeing men and women battle each other out for various intentions. He continued to walk on and the stained glass colors changed into taunting and malevolent tones; the woman herself was oppressed by other people. Her hair was grabbed and she was being beaten to shame. Further on, the windows showed how the woman was alone, almost maimed and immobile in her suffering. And then, the hopeless color of black started to fade to light tones. The woman slowly stood up; wings were slowly protruding from her back. Little by little, her wings grow larger and the colors grow brighter. Finally, the sequence ended with the color of white and the woman flying away into the heavens in awesome glory; but her face was still sad and distressed. His eyes trailed from the progressing window designs until he saw a shining winged statue; its shine was almost blinding that he shielded his eyes from the white glare. "Perhaps that poor woman became that goddess, didn't she?"

"_Perhaps?" _Sebastien remarked, uninterested.

Ciel went past the altar and looked at the statue in admiration. It was an exquisite, nine feet high, ivory statue of an angel holding a double-edged sword in her hands; the way her hands held the sword was as if she was in prayer. Her wings were larger than her and the sculpted feathers were formed as if they were resting. Her eyes were closed and her head was stooped down; the face was solemn and mournful as she had been in the stained glass. The statue shone so bright because of the polished ivory and she looked so real that any moment, she could cry. He brushed his fingers at the feathers that he could reach from the lowest part of her wing. "So this is the goddess…" He whispered in adoration. "I haven't seen or heard of her before. But I wonder what her name is?" He looked around some more; he noticed the plaque behind him and dusted the webs and dust that accumulated at the surface. He noticed the miniscule, golden inscription on the surface and began to read in interest:

_Iustitia is the personification of mortal and divine justice. Once, she was a disguised deity living contently among the mortals until their wrongdoings greatly offended her. Thus, she took flight into the heavens; not wishing to inhabit the immoral world any longer. But her great love for the mortals remained in the world. She sought out to punish those who had made wrongs and avenge those who had been wronged. Not only is she responsible for the judgment of mortals but for the divinities as well._

_Iustitia is blind. Thus there are no limitations to her revenge; whether lover, divinity, beast or human._ _Her double-edged sword symbolizes "judgment" and "reason"._

"Lady Justice…" He whispered as he looked at the statue again. "I wonder who made this sculpture in her honor?" He looked closely and saw a glitter of gold hanging on her hands; it was a golden skeleton key with a bow with an ornate design. He approached the statue and reached up for the key with his uninjured arm but he couldn't reach it even if he tiptoed. "Pardon my insolence, Lady Iustitia but I need the key…"

"_You're still polite to inanimate objects?" _Sebastien remarked as he watched the boy reach up for the key pathetically. _"You really need more human friends."_

Ciel sighed in frustration as he stopped reaching for the key. "Maybe if I use that plaque as a stool…" He turned around and climbed up on the plaque. He wobbled when his feet reached the tilted surface; his heeled boots made his balance uneasy. "Careful… careful…" He muttered as he fixed his balance. "Gee, I wonder why all of my boots have high heels?"

"_Why did you choose that kind of footwear, anyway?"_

Ciel reached for the key again. He tiptoed and tilted his body a bit forward since the plaque he had stood on was quite a distance away from the statue. A suspenseful moment filled the air as his fingers were a few millimeters away from the key; since the key had the skeleton design, his chances of getting the key was a bit predictable. When his fingers clasped around the key's bit, he wobbled out of balance. Sebastien got ready to move to break his fall at any moment but luckily, Ciel lifted his other foot back a bit to regain his balance once more. "A little more…" He sighed. "I have to lean forward a bit so that I could take the loop off the hands…" He remarked as he stared at the key intently; his body was stretched to its limit as long as he could retain his balance at the plaque. "Best of luck to me…"

"_Just who in their right minds would place that wretched key at the hands of a statue?!" _Sebastien silently complained as he watched the boy struggle. _"Can't they just hide it away in a box or something?"_

Ciel leaned forward a bit. He managed to get his fingers to clasp further up to the key's shank but his balance completely ruined. His foot quickly slipped off the plaque and he fell forwards; his hands still grasping the key hard. Fortunately, his weight and the force of gravity broke the string connecting the key but he continued to fall down. He would've injured his jaw if not for Sebastien who darted under him just in time to break his fall. His knees fell painfully behind him but at least his head was safe on the huge bundle of fur that had quite cushioned his fall. He sighed in relief. "Thanks, Sebastien." He nuzzled a bit on the wolf's soft body; the side of Sebastien's tummy in particular. "You're really soft, don't you know that?" He giggled as he looked at the key in victory and snuggled into the warmth of the wolf's fur. "Could you be my pillow for a moment? You're quite comfy…"

"_I'm not your plush pillow…" _Sebastien adjusted his position so that Ciel could lie on his side comfortably. But in all honestly, the wolf felt kind of… embarrassed and awkward to be cuddled like that; either way he liked his present position and his heart had a jolly, fluttery feeling. He turned his head to look at the boy's ever beautiful face. _"Well, you could lie all you want…" _The wolf watched as Ciel's eyelids slowly went down to a close as he savored the gentle warmth. Sebastien adjusted his paws and reclined his head on them to rest along with the boy.

"_A quick nap won't be so bad." _The wolf thought as he took one last look at the boy's peaceful face and closed his eyes to sleep. _"But was it only me that I noticed that you looked like that goddess in one of the glass panes?" _

* * *

**A/n: **Looks like I have the tendency to be wordy in my sentences. People don't like to read wordy sentences; their patience is thin. Just a realization though. But most of the important details are in those wordy sentences. But skip that. I'll do my best to be direct-to-the-point.

Replies:

**Yana5 – **Thanks! Have a tart while you go at it!

**Chu chu banato! – **Don't worry. You'll eventually find out who saved him :) Thanks a lot! Have a tart and a cup of tea!

**Cielshadow17 – **Thank you very much! Now have a tart and a cup of tea. Actually I don't know what had gotten in to me that I thought of writing a Haunting Ground – Kuroshitsuji fic. I was planning a SebXCiel fanfic with an original storyline but I lack the motivation… and the skill to think of original plot devices. I was also watching some Haunting Ground walkthrough videos at that time and I thought, "Fiona running around and calling Hewie to order him to search for a medallion… Hey, why not Ciel ordering Sebastian to search for something?" But for Sebastian to fit in, he has to be a… hmm, I don't want him to be a pursuer. That's quite unsettling (but it seems to be a good idea!). "Of course! Hewie!" But I don't want him to be a normal dog so I made him a wolf instead; a black wolf to be precise. Because black wolves are really special and I love wolves too! :) And all is history. Ah, and about the SebCiel in the fic, Sebastian is a wolf and he doesn't have much choice being in a master-and-pet relationship but he does admit that he is falling in love with Ciel at a higher level. Sebby wants to hug Ciel but unfortunately he can't. Aww… But he'll get his chance eventually. You'll just have to wait and be patient with… ehmm… Ash's advances. Oh dear, I said a lot...


	17. Obsto Pluto!

_**Chapter 15: Obsto Pluto**_

Sebastien woke up a while later; whatever time it was, he didn't care. The first thing he checked was the boy sleeping on his side. He felt something quite wrong about him. His breathing was shaky and wasn't quite relaxed and also, the boy's body was just too warm… no, actually it was too hot in terms of temperature. He was sweaty too and the wolf felt quite uncomfortable having a damp feeling on his side as he slept. _"I hope it isn't what I think it is…" _He gave a gentle nudge at his forehead to check his condition. He instantly withdrew when he felt his temperature._ "Fever? Dammit! The infection had already set in!"_

Ciel stirred awake and emitted a weak groan. His body felt so sore, especially his right arm. The temperature was oddly cold too; and he felt heavy and weak. He wanted to lie down for a longer time, but he was worried about the discomfort he was giving to the wolf for using him as a pillow for who-knows-how-long? "S…sorry…"

"_Why are you saying sorry?" _Sebastien snorted and his guilt made a grand come back to make him feel ashamed or angry at himself. _"This is really not the right time to get sick…!"_

"S-sebastien…?" The boy gasped as he opened his eyes. When the wolf caught sight of those pained looking eyes, he felt another stab of guilt and he whimpered to show how sorry he was. _"This is all my fault…!" _

Ciel's fingers traced back the area where Sebastien had bitten. "The wound's… g-gone… see?" He cringed a bit when he poked the already scar-less area; despite it having no visible wound, it was sore and seemed to be swelling. He gave a weak smile to the wolf. "I'm alright… Nothing to worry…" He mumbled and pulled himself up but he went about it quite slowly since, he felt heavy and feverish. "L-let's go…"

Sebastien wasn't a bit comforted even though the smile was sincere. He emitted a whine of concern and bit the boy's sleeve. _"Don't move so sudden!"_

"I…I'm fine…" Ciel said weakly as he tugged his sleeve away. "We… we have to go…" He blinked his eyes hard and sighed shortly. He started walking but his feet shuffled a bit; his body seemed to be sore and throbbing all over. "I'll feel more pain if I keep on walking slow like this…" He thought. So he started to run, though at a slower pace and ignored the throbs of pain most of his muscles did. Sebastien circled about; frustrated. _"Slow down!" _The wolf quickly ran ahead of him when he saw the boy run. _"You'll get dizzy if you do that!" _He barked loudly to show his protest. Ciel was quickly disoriented with the bark; he stopped running and that made his vision swirl around as if it hadn't caught up with him and it made him painfully dizzy. He grabbed the nearest thing he could lean on, which was a kneeling bench, so that he could regain his composure. "I… I'm fine…" He gasped as he put a hand on his forehead and he fell to his knees.

"_Be still, now!"_

The world seemed to be tilting down that it made him tilt sideways too. He leaned his hand down to the floor in hoping to adjust his focus. In all honesty, Ciel didn't like getting sick. Not only because of that heavy feeling his body has and his disoriented vision and how every little sound became so loud; he didn't like people worrying about him. But the fact that he was really delicate and physically weak made him really something to be worried about. He didn't like that thought; he wanted to show everyone that he could take care of himself.

Sebastien barked again. _"You're not alright!" _He approached him and bit his cuff. _"Go about slowly, will you?"_

Ciel sighed. "Why are… you doing this… S-sebastien?" He looked at the wolf forcing him to stay still. "There's… there's nothing to worry about…"

"_Stop lying to me that you're alright!" _Sebastien growled a bit and forced the boy to sit down on the floor by dragging him down. He managed to do it easily since the boy was weak and a bit disoriented to be able to decipher what he was actually doing. _"Take it easy, now…"_

Ciel collapsed and Sebastien was obliged to be his 'pillow' once again; this time, a pillow that he could lie on to relieve his discomfort. The boy snuggled into his fur without any hesitation. "S…sometimes…" Ciel said as he drew his knees close to his chest. "I wonder i-if… you're… really a person inside a wolf's body…" He sighed heavily again. "…You could understand me very well…"

"_Do you really think that?" _Sebastien glanced at him and gave him a gentle nudge at the forehead for reassurance. _"I'm just a wolf to the core."_

Ciel giggled at the wolf's gentle poke. "… I wish I could understand you well… the same way you could understand me…"

Sebastien blinked and an awkward silence prevailed in the entire chapel. The boy had quickly fallen asleep before he could even finish his sentences. But no matter, Sebastien got his point perfectly and was about to sleep…

… When a door suddenly slammed and the turning of the key was heard. A demented laugh reverberated from the wolf's ears twitched up; alert and tensed in horror. He turned his head at the sound's direction.

"DOLLY!!!" Pluto's cried in childish glee as always. "MY DOLLY!!!"

Sebastien moved slowly so that he could stand up without Ciel's head dropping to the floor violently. Pluto had trapped them inside Iustitia's chapel and Ciel was fatally vulnerable.

The wolf readied himself with the fiercest of snarls and barred his vicious canines. If he could not intimidate Pluto to flee, he had no choice but to snap his neck in half in order to keep Ciel safe.

Pluto gave another childish and insane laugh; he was delighted that he had found his dolly at long last. He had found him before; he saved him from drowning underwater and left him in that dark hall so that he would be dry by the time he had finished polishing Iustitia to a glorious luster and pruning the garden near the front gate of the castle. He was so worried when he returned to the hall and didn't find his dolly. He searched the whole castle and even called Angela-dolly for help to search for Ciel. "CIEL!!" He was about to break into a run when the black wolf darted in front of him and blocked his path. Pluto's dog-like smile turned into a scowl as he laid his eyes at the angry wolf growling at him. "Doggy stole dolly!!" He growled in rage in realization. "Dolly is MINE!!! Doggy BAD!!!"

"_What?!" _Sebastien fluffed his hair into spikes and barked ferociously. _"He's never yours! Ciel is MINE! Do you get that?!" _He swiftly launched himself at Pluto's head and bit into his neck. The man trashed around violently and screamed in agony as the wolf crushed his neck. Blood gushed and dripped into the man's body and to the floor. The wolf closed his jaws hard around the flesh and bone and threw his head around in wild directions. The attack was risky, the wolf had to admit; but it was the only way to end the man's life quickly.

Pluto managed to grab his tail and with it, he was thrown off towards the aisle; specifically at Ciel's direction. Sebastien felt that his precious tail must've snapped at the force of the man's hand; but fortunately, his tail was intact though it was kind of sore. Unfortunately, he squarely landed on Ciel's body and bounced off to the floor. Ciel's whole body racked with a burst of pain upon Sebastien's heavy impact on him; air was heavily knocked out from him and he writhed in pain. The wolf immediately got up and whimpered in apology. _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" _How he wanted to embrace him and relieve his pain; but he couldn't do anything but show remorse with the best he can as an animal. Ciel looked at him and upon seeing the pain reflected in them, he bowed his head down in shame. _"I vowed that I will protect you from anything. But what am I doing to you now?"_

"…Are you… alright Sebastien…?" Ciel gasped as he pushed himself up, despite the protests of pain his body made. He surveyed the wolf's body and gave him a feeble caress on the head. "… I'm sorry…"

"_Why?!" _Sebastien asked although his inability to speak words refrained him from asking the question. _"Why are you saying sorry to me?!" _His question came out from his throat as a dog's whimper.

"This time…" Ciel pushed himself up; still wobbling out of balance but his determination was his strength to lean on. "…I'll protect you… no matter what." He gasped.

"_No!" _Sebastien whimpered and bit his cuff to pull him back. _"Don't force yourself like this!"_

"DOLLY!!!" Pluto cried in joy. "Found… YOU!!!" He charged towards them; footsteps as heavy and loud as booming drums in Ciel's ears. Sebastien didn't spare any second and dashed at the man for another attack despite Ciel's cries of protest to stop. The wolf ignored him and bit more fiercely; flesh and blood tore off from Pluto's neck and splashed the floor and the benches. Ciel looked on, terrified and stunned; torn in anguish and guilt of allowing the violence to happen. The chapel echoed with Pluto's screams of agony; the boy couldn't bear to see someone being hurt. Adding to that fact, hearing Pluto's screams gave him more headaches since his voice rang loudly through his ears. "STOP IT, SEBASTIEN!!!" He yelled finally.

The wolf halted his attack; the boy's distressed voice shamed him very much and that split pause made him vulnerable enough for Pluto to fling him off again. His eyes had closed due to the pain of his fur being harshly pulled off at his mane; the area where Pluto grabbed him this time. He had no idea to what direction he was thrown off; he was only expecting for the pain to come…

…But instead he collided not into hard wood or concrete. He smacked at Ciel's delicate frame; he definitely felt the boy's bones crack. It seems that Ciel ignored all sore and haze to run ahead of him and soften his fall with the only option he had in mind. The wolf yelped as they fell down together to the inevitable, concrete floor.

Pluto gave another demented giggle and clapped his hands together as if he had done a good deed. Sebastien rolled off of Ciel's body the second time; looking at the boy's beaten body made him feel unworthy. He felt useless and frustrated; especially upon realizing his limits as a mere hound. _"If only… If only I…"_

Ciel staggered up without a gasp or whimper of pain passing from his lips; he was now used to the throbbing pain his body flared up with. He immediately turned to the wolf. "Are you alright, boy?" His hazy blue eyes surveying the animal's body once again. He ran a hand over Sebastien's limbs; searching for any possible injury. When he was satisfied upon finding nothing, he sighed in relief. "Stay… Sebastien, stay." He stared at the wolf's crimson eyes seriously. "Any more falls will… break your limbs…"

"_NO!!!" _Sebastien snorted to show his disagreement. _"I won't let you handle this… thing!" _He bit the cuff of the boy's sleeve and tried to pull him back. But all of a sudden, the boy threw his arms all over him; a tight, warm embrace. "…I don't want to lose the ones I love…" Ciel's words were muffled by the wolf's fur. "… I want to protect you. I don't want to lose you…"

"_I want to protect you too!" _Sebastien whined; his teeth still fastened on the cuff. _"I don't want to lose you either. I'm strong enough to do that. While you…"_

Ciel gave him a stern look even though his focus bobbed in out. "Stay." He said as he attempted the same cold and dominating stare that he gave when they played fetch. "That's an order."

The wolf hung his head low and whined again. He let go of the boy's cuff as if in obedience but in reality, he didn't want to follow the boy's command. He was completely worried; sure, the boy proved to be daring at times but in the situation he is in now, his attitude does not benefit him at all. He watched the boy move to the aisle and offered himself to Pluto. As soon as the boy's back was completely turned to him, he silently prowled behind Pluto's side but he kept himself hidden. _"Just in case he really needs help, I'll barge in…"_

Ciel shook his head a bit to focus at his adversary; he took a deep breath and shouted, "Come and get me!"

Pluto giggled and clapped as an acceptance to the boy's invitation to play, or whatever his little mind assumed what the boy's invitation was. The man broke into a run towards him; giving him the usual 'cat and mouse' chase. Ciel tried his best to evade the man's lunges at him; though moving fast made him feel painfully dizzy, he refused to give up. He frowned; steely determination glistened in his eyes as he ran towards the altar. "Hope I could wield that thing…" He set his eyes on one of the poled candelabras standing on both sides of the altar. "That fire might scare and injure him a bit… Oh goddess, forgive me…"

He seized the candelabra the moment he reached it and swung it towards Pluto like a clumsy sword. His swinging of the ornament seemed like a miracle, or perhaps an adrenaline rush; he struck right at the man's neck and the lit candles that fell off set his clothing on fire. Pluto was flabbergasted and confused by the blow and the fire; he yowled in pain and attempted to put out the fire by blowing at the flame but it only let the fire spread more throughout his clothes. Ciel took advantage of the confusion and dashed towards the door; the only entrance and exit. "Sebastien, come!"

"_Where are you going?!" _Sebastien watched the boy that ran past him. _"The door's locked! Oh no… he didn't notice?!" _He barked, hoping to call the boy's attention to him. "_Nice performance there, by the way." _

"Come on, Sebastien!" Ciel called to him and seized the doorknob. To his horror, he realized that it was locked. "He… he… how could it…" He sighed in fatigue and frustration; strength was draining him really quick. He collapsed to an all-fours position; gasping for breath and vision spinning wildly. "What should I do…?" He took deep breaths to calm his aching nerves. "The key's with him…"

Sebastien barked at him softly and gave him an assuring nudge at his face. "We'll get out of here…" The boy smiled at him. "…We will… I know…"

Heavy footsteps pounded at his ears. He looked up and saw Pluto running towards him. The man looked really mad; no surprise there since he got struck by a candelabra and clothes and body singed by flames. Who wouldn't be angry with that? He eyed the boy angrily as he ran, arms raised, hands curled like claws and his teeth were bared like a beast's. Ciel was dumbstruck and on his wits end as he collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. Sebastien didn't spare a thought or two to dash and bite Pluto's hand; hoping to rip the man's hand off for a quicker and easier death. But perhaps the wolf was getting exhausted too; his biting power had slackened a bit than before. The lack of force from the hound's jaws was enough for the man to fling him away. Sebastien was flung towards the chandelier's supporting mechanism fixed on the pillar but he skillfully twisted his body around that he managed to land his paws on the mechanism; like a platform where he could jump off to go to the next platform. In this case, the next platform was Pluto. Sebastien landed on Pluto's back and started biting and ripping flesh from there.

Ciel noticed that the chandelier above them tilted out of balance when Sebastien used the mechanism as leverage for his jump. The mechanism's wheel got disturbed by the wolf's paws; causing the wheel to turn and slacken the rope supporting the chandelier. "Hmm… Why not?" A nice bubble of thought formed in his head. "If Bugs Bunny and anvils work nicely when the situation calls it, why not Pluto and a chandelier?"

He closed his eyes hard; renewing his focus and determination. That idea must work; now or never!

"Sebastien, keep that up!" He called out to the wolf in a commanding tone. When he heard the wolf bark in reply, it meant that the order was completely understood. He ran towards the chandelier supporter that Sebastien had jumped off and aimed a kick at the mechanism. He winced when one kick shattered the mechanism entirely; either his kick was really strong or, the mechanism was completely old… probably the latter. The chandelier tilted and hung completely out of balance. "Whoops… Oh well…"

He ran to the other mechanism but before he kicked it, he stopped in thought. "That chandelier must fall directly on top of him. I have to time this right…" So, he watched Pluto struggle against Sebastien until he moved to the spot where he wanted him to be. He immediately spun around and kicked and shattered the mechanism; a roundhouse kick at that!

… But something doesn't seem right. The rope didn't slacken the way it should've been…

… Epic fail… Nothing else happened to the chandelier.

His eyes widened in horror the moment he turned to Pluto. The man had seized the wolf completely off of him and was about to throw the hound at the altar's direction. Ciel immediately dashed in front of Pluto to catch wherever Sebastien was to land. He didn't catch his wolf exactly but cushioned his fall instead. Either way, it hurt a lot. He came crashing down to the floor for the 'nth' time with the wolf on top of him. He felt guilty for making the wolf work too hard. The quick and strong pulse he could feel on top of him told him that the wolf was completely exhausted; thankfully still alive. Nevertheless, he felt grateful to him. He realized how intent he was to save his life and he felt obligated to do the same thing to his faithful wolf. He sat up and held the wolf close to him in a protective bear hug as Pluto strode towards them. Ciel couldn't think of any way how they would get through the situation alive. All he could do for the time being was scoot back in retreat and protect his wolf from further injury.

…And then he remembered how awfully sore his body was and the terrible heavy feeling and the unstoppable spinning feeling, and etcetera. In Layman's term, he had just remembered that he felt ill. No, he WAS ill…

Pluto twisted and cracked his neck. His back, especially his neck, was full of bites and ripped flesh. He felt totally strained for dealing with the savage hound. Now that he had beaten his adversary, he could finally take his dolly without any distractions. "Dolly… back to bed…!" He growled. "No running…!" But when he saw his dolly continuously backing away from him, he became more frustrated. He let out a threatening roar and spread his arms wide; his own way of showing intimidation and warning.

But Ciel doesn't seem to take notice of Pluto's intimidation. His eyes were fixed on the last mechanism he had kicked. The mechanism's pulleys were emitting a faint squeaky noise; indicating that it was moving. He turned his eyes to the chandelier above them and saw that it was slowly lowering down. He checked Pluto's current position; a few steps more and he would be directly under the chandelier. The chandelier to drop on the man was the only way they could get out.

He didn't know what had gotten into him but instead of planning something, he stayed in his place and prayed. He prayed that the chandelier would fall fast and on time. He shut his eyes and prayed hard; his heart pounded heavily in panic and the loud beat rang in his ears. There was nothing else he could do but wait.

He could hear nothing but the heavy pounding of his heart. He embraced Sebastien tightly and buried his face on the wolf's fur; not minding the smell of sweat and blood he was inhaling.

… The chandelier's crystal ornaments jingled; the mechanism's wheels squeaked louder...

"UWWAAAAAAAAAARRGGHHHHHHH!!!"

… And a moment of silence prevailed.

* * *

**A/n: **I fail my fight scenes. And there is like, what, four fight scenes including this one. Oh... the torture!!! Anyways, we're close to ending the Pluto-stalker mode of the story. Nobody has guessed Lorenzo's equivalent yet. Keep guessing! (Though I admit it's only a mini-achievement on your part... sorry. Nothing epic about it...) **A question:** Do I have to push the fic's plotline faster? Just tell me if it's a bit slow. ('Coz I think I'm writing it slow...)

**antitype-blackblood **is my Muse. Her Kuro fic is awesome!

Replies:

**Yana5 – **No. He just looks like the goddess. His pretty looks will be much help to him. Now have a tart. (:D)

**Anna-Jay – **Many thanks! Now have a tart! I love you too for reading my fic!

**Cielshadow17 – **Don't worry, Sebby will always step in and ruin Ash's advances; and Sebby will never be late… just quite late. If not, whether he's incapacitated or sedated.

**Chu chu banato! – **Thanks! Things will be freakishly weirder and weirder further on. Now have another cup of tea and a tart… or maybe you could take a break from those treats if you want to. Hey, have you heard of the Kuroshitsuji musical? (=D)


	18. Veneratio

_**Chapter 16: Veneratio**_

"_Urgh… what happened?" _Sebastien groggily woke up. _"I feel so tired… and restricted… Wait…!" _He could hear and feel a quick pulse on that soft something he was bound to. What seemed unsettling was the moaning and gaspy rounds of breathing he was hearing. When he had regained his focus, he realized that the soft something was actually Ciel's body and the boy had embraced him for some reason. _"What happened again? Oh! That Pluto threw me off and…! What am I doing here?!" _He squirmed out of the boy's frail grasp and got up to his paws to see what had happened while he was out. The boy seemed to have fainted while holding him close. If the wolf could blush he could've done so.

He walked slowly around the chapel; he still felt sore and the limp on one of his hind legs wasn't advantageous to what might happen. In his point of view, a chandelier had crushed Pluto. He was sure that the hand stretched out under the chandelier was Pluto's since he could see (and smell) the bite marks he had done to it. He was completely impressed and admired the boy's handiwork. _"So that was what he was doing." _

Speaking of Ciel, the boy was worse than before. In addition to his worsened fever and even labored breathing, bruises had formed all over his body. The wolf could see the bruises on the boy's legs; no doubt that the bruises were also on the other parts of his body considering the number of beatings he had received during the battle. Being sprawled all over the floor wasn't helping his condition either. Sebastien whined and licked the boy's cheeks. _"Please wake up. You have to get out of here." _He barked near his ear and poked his face with his nose. But the boy remained unconscious and the wolf didn't stop his barking and licking. _"Please! Please wake up!" _He barked and whined more loudly. But it seemed that his incessant noise woke somebody else up.

To his horror, the chandelier on top of Pluto was moving. It seems that the huge ornament wasn't enough to stop him for good. Pluto grunted as he moved the chandelier on top of him without an arduous effort. He cracked and twisted his arms and his other joints as he slowly stood back up. The broken chandelier toppled over; its decorations shattered and the brass extensions bent to uselessness. Pluto's mad eyes glinted with fury when he saw the wolf growling threateningly at him. The man growled in return to the wolf's taunting pose and charged at him quickly without a slack of his newly recovered strength. Sebastien flew across the chapel and collided with the kneeling benches nearby. The powerful force from Pluto's foot still throbbed and swelled on the wolf's ribs. Sebastien emitted a whining sound as he writhed and almost remained stunned lying on the floor. _"Get up! Get up, dammit!!!" _He cursed his already weakening and sore body. _"Move! Move it!! He's gonna kill Ciel!" _He limped very slowly until he returned to the central aisle where the boy was. He despaired when he saw Pluto holding the boy in the air by the neck. What's more, Ciel had woken up and was deprived of his breathing; all the more pain that the wolf felt, seeing how helpless the boy was in the deranged man's grasp. Ciel weakly trashed his legs and he had his hands around Pluto's hands in an effort to loosen the grip on his neck. Sebastien aimed a bite at Pluto's ankle, but he was effortlessly kicked away. The wolf collided again at the nearest kneeling bench; his impact worsened the injury in his ribs. The burning pain was almost overwhelming to the point that he became numb. _"Dammit! Iustitia! You're the judge of all, aren't you?! It isn't just for Ciel to die! Not now!"_

Ciel was weakening; his legs stopped moving, his eyes coming to a close and his face getting paler due to lack of air. "S…sebas….tien…"

The wolf limped back to the aisle quickly; fearing that he would be hearing that call and breath for the final time…

… And all of a sudden, Pluto passed by him; fleeing and screaming as if he had seen something worthy of being feared. Pluto ran for the door screaming, "Forgiveness!!! Forgiveness!!!". He also destroyed the only door out of fear and desperation to flee. _"What was that all about?" _Sebastien quickly limped his way to Ciel's body to check if he was still alive. But seeing Ciel taking in huge gulps of air should be enough proof. Nevertheless, he was happy… extremely happy; his heart could burst from that strong emotion. He couldn't resist licking the boy's face; he didn't care if he acted like a silly domesticated dog. Ciel was alive. That's what mattered most of all.

"Ah… kyaa… Sebastien…" Ciel giggled. "My face…"

"_Sorry. I'm just…!" _Sebastien wagged his tail wildly. _"Excited…!"_

Ciel sat up and wiped his face with his sleeve. "Do I… look scary…?"

"_No. Just 'pretty' scary. But definitely not 'scary' scary."_

"I wonder… what scared Pluto so much…?" Ciel glanced behind him. After a few seconds of silence, he muttered, "Oh… I see…"

"_What?" _He turned his head to the direction Ciel was looking at. Sebastien could only see the holy light of Iustitia's statue giving an almost blinding glare. He took back a few steps to adjust the glaring light on his eyes and blinked a few times. _"See what?"_

"Time to go, Sebastien…" The boy stopped staring at the statue and slowly got up to his feet. He wobbled out of balance quite a bit; a bit dizzy, but quite bearable enough.

At that moment, whether by coincidence or just the wolf's point of view, Ciel was directly aligned at the radius of Iustitia's holy glow. So, instead of seeing Iustitia, Sebastien saw Ciel bearing that glaring light… and the angel wings. The wolf stared at the boy in an awestruck expression. Ciel failed to notice the almost dumb look at the animal's face. "Oh… hey. You're limping…!"

"_An angel…" _Sebastien continued to stare at him as if he didn't hear his remark. "_No… Iustitia… No… you just look like the goddess…! That Pluto must be that stupid to think that he's strangling a goddess well in fact…"_

"You received quite a beating from Pluto. Better take it easy now." Ciel ripped a part of his torn sleeve. "Come here."

Sebastien blinked at him. _"Sorry…? Come again?"_

Ciel finally noticed the wolf's almost clueless expression. "Something wrong?"

"_What did you say again?"_

Ciel sighed and repeated his command. "I said, come here."

The wolf limped to him; feeling a bit embarrassed for being absent –minded in admiration. "You must be really injured to be a bit slow right now, hm?" Ciel said as he started wrapping the wolf's leg gently. "Please bear with me…"

"_Hmm?" _Sebastien stared at the boy's face; not minding the small bouts of pain and Ciel's quick apologies as his leg was being bandaged up. Since they were close to each other, the wolf liked the view of the boy's beautiful face. Perhaps it was alright to say that the boy in front of him was an angel. Not a goddess since… well, he's a boy. Boys can't be goddesses… Angels would do… Ciel was definitely his angel and no one else's. His motivation to serve the boy blazed further when Ciel kissed his forehead.

"I owe you my life." The boy said in a hushed voice and a smile. "Thank you."

"_All this angel's kisses and smiles and glances would be for me only and for no one else!" _Sebastien's eyes glinted with desire… perhaps obsession, with staring back at the boy's eyes. He liked to describe the boy's sapphire eyes as irresistibly captivating… though the other eye, he had noticed for the first time, had an odd tinge of purple with a few traces of… something… a star maybe?

"Done…!" Ciel said as he finished wrapping up the wolf's injured leg. "Now let's go back… Urghh…"

"_Uh-oh…" _

"I… I feel so tired…" His posture slackened and voice faded into a moan as he collapsed on Sebastien; though he really didn't mean to. The wolf found himself becoming a pillow again but it wasn't as comfortable as before since his whole body was sore and broken all over. He squirmed out of the boy's weight and gave him a poke on his cheek. When he received no response, he shook his head a bit. _"Ah… He fainted again… I should get help." _Sebastien formed two options: call Angela or Ash for help. Technically speaking, he made only one choice; he disregarded the latter choice immediately and decided on to call for Angela.

"_But she tried to kill him earlier…!" _The wolf stopped before he could even reach the broken remnants of the door. _"Hell no would I entrust Ciel to that perverted man!"_

A minute was spent with Sebastien debating over two choices: A maid with an unpredictable urge to kill? Or a man with occasional urges to molest the boy? Which is a better choice? _"Dammit. The safer the better…" _If the wolf could grumble, he could've done so. _"Guess I have no choice but to get that bastard…"_

* * *

**A/n: **Sorry if this chapter looks a bit rushed. I'm stressed out over nothing for some reason. My Christmas vacation didn't feel like a vacation since it includes accomplishing loads of requirements and Take-Home Quizzes. 2 weeks of vacation wasn't even worth it...

Anyways, I'd take a break from writing. Besides this being my last update for the year, there's that huge Writer's Block again... (groan). I want to focus on my studies for the next 4 months... or maybe, just check your e-mail; you'll know when I have updates. So, expect me to update rarely. But hey, at least Pluto wouldn't be bothering Ciel and Sebby much...

Something's wrong with the online English to Latin Translator again... (grumble). The meaning of the title is supposed to be "Adoration" but I changed it into "Respect" instead since it's the closest word I could get with a Latin equivalent.

Replies:

**LovelyWickedDescet – **I also want to play the game myself, you're not alone. But unfortunately, I don't have a PS2 to play the game. The Bugs Bunny mention just came along like random. Oh, and it's nice to see you again. (:P) Now have a tart and a cup of tea!

**Yana5 – **He might make a good goddess, but boys can't be goddesses right? Have a treat!


	19. Flower Compositio

_**Chapter 17: Flower Compositio**_

… _He was sitting on a bed; his legs dangling freely. He hummed the endless melody of the chimes from his dream as he folded pieces of paper into roses. "This 'origami' thing that he taught me is very interesting!" He said cheerfully as he added another origami rose into the origami basket he made earlier. So far, he had only done nine, red origami roses; including the one he added. "Ninety-one more to go!" He said cheerfully as he started folding another rose._

"_Ciel, what are you doing?" Asked a man who passed by him._

"_I'm filling the basket with one hundred roses!"_

"_Oh? You mean with cleverly folded paper?" Said the man with a mocking tone as he picked off a rose from the basket. "Intriguing…"_

"_Intriguing?"_

"_What are they for, may I ask?"_

… _He rolled his eyes. "To whom are they for is the right question for that." He said in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone. The man snorted mockingly._

… _He caught the man's mockery and shot him an offended glare. "What?" _

"_That foolish devotion of yours will do you nothing of importance." The man tossed the paper rose dismissively. "What kind of human would fall for something like you?" _

… _He ignored the man's comment and continued with the construction of the tenth paper rose. "Ah!" _

* * *

"… Hmm… Uh?" Ciel's eyes shot open in an instant. He was folding origami roses in his dream and he got a paper-cut upon folding the paper…

A familiar voice interrupted his foggy formation of thought. "Are you awake, my lord?"

"Ohh… Ash…" Ciel murmured. He always told himself that from now on, that Vincent-like voice he was hearing belongs to Ash, the castle's keeper and no one else. "Uhmm… Hi?"

Ash sighed. "What happened to you, young master? Your body's full of bruises and broken bones. Your dog has the same condition as you are."

"... SEBASTIEN!" Ciel immediately sat up and shouted for the wolf's name with anxiety. "Quick! He's got a limp! Pluto! He…!"

"Calm down. Calm down…" Ash put a hand on his chest to give him ease. "Apparently, your dog is here and he is alright now. I have done appropriate methods to mend his broken limbs. Also, I have given him medication, so there is no need to worry." The servant glanced at the huge black hound watching him from afar. Though Sebastien was resting on the lounging area; seated particularly on one of the chairs, the wolf's intimidating glare and body language were all directed at him; clearly stating to him that any move that displeases the wolf would set all hell loose at him. Ash decided to play safe and reminded himself of self-control.

Ciel groaned as his headache returned. He collapsed back to the pillows and snuggled into the soft and feather-light feeling from the covers. "Umm… How did I get here…?"

"Again, your dog led you to me…"

"Wolf." Ciel interrupted. "He's a wolf…"

"Ehm…" Ash gave a slight nod. "Of course. Your wolf led me to you. And a while ago, you mentioned Pluto."

Ciel sighed as he curled up under the blanket. "Please… I don't want to talk about it…" He didn't feel like talking about what happened since he knew it would take a huge amount of time and energy. "Just… later… until I'm well…"

"As you wish." Ash said. "Please excuse me." He removed his gloves and went close to him. The action caused to wolf to growl but Ash just ignored the wolf's threat. Ciel's flustered face turned into a deeper shade of red when the servant's hand touched his forehead. "Your temperature's not going any lower…"

Ciel blushed deeper. His heart was pounding loudly again and the proximity of their faces wasn't helping either. Also, he noticed that his clothes were a bit loose. He shifted his legs a bit under the blanket and the feeling of not having shorts set an inappropriate imagination to his head. "Did you…?" He murmured. "Dress me up?"

"Of course, I did." Ash answered. "You have to cool down. If you still wear your former clothing, your body wouldn't cool down properly."

Ciel didn't feel cool about the servant's statement. It only made the heat rush up to his face more. He didn't feel comfortable with the fact that his servants dress him up while he's unconscious. But if you look at it at a positive view, at least you won't feel the awkward position you are placed into, if ever. So, he's a bit okay with the unconscious part but the dressing up part would need some notification.

"I never saw anything." Ash said in a dismissive tone. "Your underwear is still on you, am I correct?"

Ciel felt all the heat rush to his face. He felt dizzy with keeping up with the awkward talk and the memory of the 'accident' flashed again in his mind. He thought he could talk about it and confess what has been bothering him as soon as possible to get that heavy feeling off his chest once and for all. But he couldn't find the right time for it; and the more he thought about it, the more he wasted time about keeping shut up. "After I get better…" He simply resolved and tried to find something else to think about. Sebastien's incessant growling intrigued the boy enough. Ash noticed the boy's gaze at the animal and shrugged. "He's like that every time I get close to you."

"Oh… really…?"

"I've got this hunch." Ash withdrew his hand. "I think he is fond of you. Very fond." There was a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice, but the way Ciel heard it, perhaps it was just his slightly distorted senses. "And I think he gets jealous of anybody who touches you. Or perhaps, he just doesn't trust me."

"…Jealous…?"

"Wolves are possessive animals. They refuse to lose or hand something over to the enemy." Ash said as he went to the bedside table where the basin of cold water was. "That's a basic frame of mind for someone who has found something of great value." He dipped the towel into the water and squeezed off the excess water. "Rather, every creature alive has that frame of mind for anything valuable."

"Aww… he likes me…" Ciel giggled weakly. "… Isn't that sweet…?"

Ash went back to the bed and pulled back the blanket. Ciel's legs bent demurely away; he had just realized that the shirt he was wearing only reached to his thighs. Ash couldn't suppress a smile at the awkward action. "I don't know anything about sweet, young master." He said as he returned to his nursing objective. "I just know that it's a flavor that gives you a simple surge of happiness and satisfaction, correct?" He said as he pushed back the boy's bangs and brought the damp towel to his forehead.

"Meh…" Ciel groaned when the cold towel rubbed over his forehead. "You're too serious… take a break… or something…?"

"If I take a break now," Ash replied as he gently wiped the boy's face. "Then the heat might affect your nervous system and distort your senses. Until you get well, I won't take a break."

Ciel pouted… or perhaps attempted to do so. "Meh… Come on…" He stopped talking when Ash's other hand undid the buttons of his loose shirt. He knew that there mustn't be anything on the way of the towel for it to be able to pass easily. But the way his fingers brushed and the towel passed on to his skin made him remember the way he had been caressed during that 'accident'. So, even simple motions such as unbuttoning and moving his arm triggered memories of 'that' and caused his mind to get foggy and to heat up in an uncomfortable way.

"Is there a problem?" Ash noticed the boy's troubled and heavily flustered face as well as his deepened breathing.

"… I… No." Ciel tried to make his eyes focus on the servant amidst his slipping consciousness. "There is no problem."

"Something's bothering you." Ash withdrew the towel from the boy's body and buttoned up the boy's shirt. "Would you like to discuss about it?"

Ciel replied immediately. "No…! I mean…" He sighed. "… Perhaps I'm tired…"

"You can sleep if you want to."

Ciel immediately pulled the blanket back to his body and shifted himself down the covers that he looked like he was hiding underneath the blanket. Ash dipped the towel back into the basin and cast a glare at the still growling wolf. "Quiet!" He hissed.

Sebastien didn't recoil at the servant's glare and hiss. He ceased growling but kept his glare at the man and kept constant vigilance to his actions. _"I'm not keeping my eyes off of you until you get out of here."_

Ash approached the bed and pulled back the boy's blanket a bit so that his head was visible. "I wonder what's bothering you, my dear?" He muttered to himself as he bore a sinister smile on his face. "I'm sure that would be an interesting conversation. And I'm getting tired of this waiting." He sat on his chair and watched the boy sleep.

* * *

"_What are you doing?"_

… _He looked up from the twelfth rose he was making and saw the man he was making the roses for. He instantly blushed and smiled. "I'm making roses!"_

"_Oh?" The man smiled, fascinated. "What are they for?"_

… _He blushed harder. "F-for someone."_

"_And who might that someone be?"_

… _He put his finger to his lips. "Secret!"_

_The man laughed and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Are you in love, Ciel?"_

… _He said nothing, but his eyes were affectionately directed to that special someone…_

* * *

"Whuf!"

Ciel's eyes instantly shot open. "Aww, Sebastien…!" He groaned with a hint of frustration in his voice. He turned to his side and saw the huge, black wolf peering at him. "I was so close to see his face!"

"_Who's face?" _Sebastien squinted his eyes at him in curiosity. _"That must be somebody else or if it's that pervert's face you're talking about, then…"_

"Urgh… Hey Sebastien." The boy sat up and stretched his arms. "…You okay? What's that in your mouth?" He rubbed his eyes a bit to clear his vision. "Flowers?"

"_Obviously…" _Sebastien approached the bed and deposited the flowers in front of the boy. Then all of a sudden, the wolf sneezed.

"Eh… allergic?" Ciel gave a sheepish grin as he took the huge, pink and exotic looking flowers. The flowers were still wet with dew and the fragrance administered a strong but sweet scent that alerted his senses sharply; much like sniffing ammonia but with a better and pleasurable scent. "They're wonderful. Thank you!" He smiled and giggled afterwards when he saw his companion sneeze again.

"_This is a disgrace…!" _Sebastien thought irritably as he gave another sneeze. _"It's so itchy! I hate flowers!" _He wildly shook his head and snorted loudly, hoping to expel the allergen out of his nose. Though his effort was futile and kept on sneezing. Ciel got off of bed and reached out towards the wolf. "Looks like we have to wash that pollen out in some way. But from now on," He patted and rubbed the wolf's head reassuringly. "No sniffing around the flowers, okay? Poor Sebby." He kissed the wolf's nose. "Your nose must be sore from all that sneezing, huh?"

"_Sebby?" _

"I feel a lot better now…!" Ciel said happily as he stretched his arms as far as he could. "Those flowers must've helped a lot! Thanks!"

"_Sebby?" _The wolf thought about his pet-name over and over. Not that it sounds silly and cute, but…

"I've never felt better!" Ciel inhaled the scent of the flowers deeply and started to spin around the room at random; carefree and devoid of the feeling of dizziness and a smile on his face. He spun around as if he were dancing a ballet full of pirouettes. Nevertheless, Sebastien grew worried instead of being relieved with the boy's 'high' mood. _"I hope those flowers aren't causing him to be this high… Achoo!" _

"Hey Seebbyy…." He chanted with a silly grin on his face. "Is this a tulip? Or an aldyhide? Or pansies or moonblooms?" He waved the flower in front of the wolf's face as he continued to run down a list of foreign flowers. "Or star blossoms? Or fairy tears? Or…"

"…_What's with all this sudden hyperactivity?…" _Sebastien thought. _"Anyways, I have to get that flower away from him before any further stupidity happens…" _He crouched down to build up his momentum. When Ciel wandered into his line of sight he launched himself right away; tackling the boy down to the floor. Sebastien felt guilty though; hurting the boy like this while he's still recovering from the fever.

"Oowww…" Ciel grunted; his voice slurry. "That hurts… Why did you do that, Sebby?" He hit the wolf's head with the flower like a lame whip.

"_You act like a drunk man." _Sebastien's eyes followed the swishing flower. _"Now let me have that stupid flower…" _His teeth latched at the flower's stem and tried to pull it away from the boy's grasp. But apparently, the boy won't let go of the plant and tugged at it in return. "It's my flower…! It's mine!" Ciel said childishly with an angry pout on his face.

"_Oh please…" _The wolf growled a bit and pulled at the flower. But still the boy won't let go of it. _"I should've known that stupid flower would be trouble." _Sebastien grumbled inwardly. _"Why have I thought of giving him a flower anyway?"_ He pulled at the flower with more force but unfortunately, he sneezed; causing him to lose his grip from the plant and tumble backwards. _"Dammit!" _He snorted.

"Ha-ha!" Ciel sat up and distanced himself from the wolf; particularly on top of the bed and held the intoxicating flower possessively close to himself. "You won't get it! Ha-ha! It's mine!" He laughed as he hopped around; careful not to fall or get too close to the edge of the bed. Sebastien watched the boy look down at him with caution. _"This is all so stupid. Why does that flower have to be intoxicating to sniff at in the first place?"_

"Young master?" A familiar voiced softly added into the silly atmosphere. Sebastien snapped back into threatening mode and kept vicious and vigilant eyes on the servant.

"Oh, Ash!" Ciel called excitedly and obvious glee. "Hello! I'm okay now! Reeeaaalllyyy oookkaaaaayy NOOOOWWW!" He giggled and waved and twirled the flower around his fingers. The servant seemed perplexed upon seeing the suspicious-looking flower and approached him right away. "Is that flower…?"

"Sebastien gave it to me…!" Ciel said as he held the flower close at the servant's face. "Look! Isn't he sweet?"

Upon closer inspection of the plant, Ash recognized the flower right away and picked it off right away from the boy's hands. "This will not do. I have to confiscate this… thing away from you."

Ciel pouted and attempted to get the plant back. "But…! But it's miiiiinneee…!"

"Sniffing this will not improve your condition." Ash answered as he evaded the boy's futile reach. "Although this is a high-quality stimulant and gives you an increase of rate recovery, your senses will… Oof!" Ash ceased explaining when the boy tackled him to the ground. "Give my flower back!" Ciel shouted at him in childish annoyance. "Sebby gave it to meee!"

Compared to Ciel's normal state of mind, the boy didn't even have a tinge of pink on his cheeks even though his body was closely pressed on Ash as he reached up for the flower. The servant did all he could to evade from his reach. Their attempts continued with a series of childish and futile tussles on the floor until Ash thought, "This is so childish… This must stop now."

"_This is soooo wrong…"_

The servant rolled over to throw off his master from his back and at the same time, take over an advantageous position to block off the boy's limbs. In short, Ash was now on top of the boy and was able to pin his wrists and tangle their legs to prevent any movement. Ciel remained obliviously hyper to the situation.

"_Foul play…!" _Sebastien's eyes narrowed. _"I have a feeling that I should interfere…" _The wolf started advancing.

Ciel still attempted to move despite the restriction. "GIVE IT TO M- umph!"

"_HELL NO!" _Sebastien barked as he lost composure at the scene before him. Ash had lunged at the boy's lips with his own to shut him up. _"HELL NO !" _The wolf froze in jealous fury as he watched Ciel protest and squirm under Ash's grasp. _"That's it! I don't care if Ciel will hate me with what I'm gonna do but I'll bite this man's neck securely and twist it so sharply that his cranium would break off and I'll…!"_

Suddenly, Ash quickly broke off the contact with his lips and quickly got up along with the finally confiscated flower. He acted so casually as if nothing had happened. Ciel, however, was all flustered and shocked as if his normal, bashful state of mind had returned. He sat up and watched in still shock as his servant went to the door to leave his room.

"_Grrr… I'll kill him. I swear…" _Sebastien fumed as he contained his temper. He turned to look at Ciel and was slightly annoyed at the boy's action; he was tracing his lips in wonder and slight bliss. _"Hey, a while ago you were acting all scared whenever he comes near you. Have you forgotten what he did to… Hey!" _

"Ash!" Ciel called. "Listen…!"

Ash glanced at his master and sighed. "Calm down, young master. You should rest…"

Ciel didn't listen and started to dash towards the servant as if to come up with an urgent matter. _"Where are you going…?"_ The wolf stared in bewilderment as he watched the boy run to the man. _"Quit chasing for that flower…"_

When the distance of Ciel and Ash was half a foot away, the boy suddenly jumped up to wrap his arms on the back of Ash's neck. This made the man forcibly stoop down to the boy's height.

"_This isn't about the flower is it…?"_

"Ash…! I…" Ciel panted, apparently drained from his run. "I…! Must tell… you…!" His face was getting all flustered again, mainly because of the embarrassment of not being able to string his words together and his inability to have control on his breathing. Also add the fact that he was staring directly at Ash's tantalizing lavender eyes thus, pushing back all the words he had thought to say.

"Yes, my lord?" Ash said. His voice and warm breath made Ciel shiver. The shiver meant many things: suppressed longing, sensitive urges and being ticklish. But there was one thing that the boy wanted to say through words, but there was always something about Ash's eyes that always prompted him to shyness and utter submission.

"Troubled?"

Ciel finally said nothing after his mind-debate. His cheeks flushed into a deep red and opened his mouth slightly to at least say a word or… just a sound… or just something…

Ash smiled softly at the boy's confused face said, "Do you want another kiss, young master?"

Ciel's demure nod prompted Ash to press his lips on the boy's for the second time. But much to Ciel's disappointment, it wasn't the full-blown, heated kiss he braced himself for. The kiss was just something like a soft peck at the lips and not much else.

"Does that suit your need, young master?" Ash's words were the same teasing tone that Ciel was used to. But there was something about it that poked him bothered. In other words, he felt embarrassment and guilt for the 'harassment' he had brought to his servant.

"Yes…" Ciel murmured sheepishly and bowed his head low in shame. "… Thank you." He loosened his grip to let Ash return to his right posture. Ciel tried to look at him at the eyes but the servant averted from his gaze; whether it was on purpose or just by coincidence since he was going to take his leave anyway.

"I insist that you sleep the ecstasy off, young master." Ash said before he left. "You need your rest."

Ciel wasn't sure if all the events that had happened were a dream. If it ever was, he would be thankful. If not, he wasn't sure if he could talk to the man again. "After I had harassed him like that, will he even dare look at me again?" He thought as he sat on his bed. "… But he was the one who harassed you first!" Yelled the blunt side of his mind. "He should be the one asking your question!"

"But it isn't fair to do it to him too!" He frowned as his passive side of mind responded. "Revenge doesn't solve anything!"

Ciel snorted as he rolled over and buried his face on the pillow. "Was it even revenge? I just want a …"

"…A passionate full blown kiss? Yeah right…"

"I DO NOT!" Ciel blushed as hard as a tomato. "This is ridiculous! I'm debating with voices inside my head that are actually my thoughts! This is madness!" He blurted out as he yelled at the direction of a plant pot at the corner. Sebastien gave a snort and an eye-roll. _"Who the hell are you talking to?" _

"Oh Sebastien!" Ciel was alerted with the presence of his wolf because of the snort. "I didn't mean to harass him like that! I didn't know what came over me to why I did that…!"

"_Must be the flower power…" _The wolf jumped up to his bed and snuggled close to the boy.

"…I don't know…" Ciel sighed and calmed down. "Maybe… I'm just really stressed out." He stroked the wolf's head and cuddled him close. "Why do I feel this way to him? Maybe this is all just a dream…"

Sebastien watched the boy drift off to sleep. _"If ever this was all a dream, I wish I'm dreaming too…" _He thought as he curled up close to the boy. _"I wish I could talk to you so that you'd know what I feel and how jealous I get when that pervert comes to you! Damn this body!"_ He unconsciously growled as he remembered all the moments when Ciel and Ash would get together and make a scene. But no matter how Ciel was almost always intentionally involved, he can't get himself to hate the boy no matter what.

"… _Hey, if I get to act like Ash maybe he'll notice me too…?" _The wolf thought and it struck him as a good idea. He wiggled out of the boy's arm and jumped out of bed. _"Surely I couldn't talk… What if I kiss and touch him the way that pervert does? But how am I going to do that with paws?" _He circled about on the floor, thinking. _"Whatever!"_

* * *

"_Ciel, come here!"_

…_He was finishing his twenty-fifth paper rose when he heard the voice of his beloved. He jumped up from his place and ran to the direction where the voice called; bringing along the paper rose._

…_He saw him with a woman. She was tall, fair and very pretty; like an angel from heaven. Her smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and her hair flowed as if in waves. Her white dress complemented well to her beauty…_

"_Ciel I want you to meet Rachel."_

"_Hi Rachel!"_

…_When his beloved kissed her, he felt something in his heart. It was that strange feeling that made him feel sick. It was a feeling that all the paper roses he was making ever since wasn't worth giving anymore… _

* * *

**A/n: **IN THE FLESH! I GRADUATED 2 MONTHS AGO! AND NOW I'M BACK AND KICKING. I'm trying my best to continue this fanfic and set aside my Original Fiction story until I finish this Fanfic! I'm trying to make the plot move faster. I'm sorry if this was getting draggy but I want to write it casually and give a picture in your head as you read; like a movie. I'm trying hard to improve my writing see?

If there's something I made a mistake or anything unclear. Tell me, okay?

So good to be back! By the way, can we talk about the second musical of Kuroshitsuji and the second season of the anime? :3


	20. Certamen

_**Chapter 18: Certamen  
**_

Sebastien went sniffing about in the boy's room. The boy was sleeping his ecstasy and fever off and there was nothing else the wolf could do at the moment.

… But if there was one thing Sebastien liked to do, it was scavenger hunting. Call it a hobby or whatever but the wolf has interest with shiny things; the way that objects twinkled and sparkled fascinated him. The objects he would find or dig up were almost always a beauty worth keeping secret from the rest of the world. He sniffed about in Ciel's room; nothing smelled out of the ordinary from the earth anywhere…

"_If you can call a human smelling like blooming roses in the spring ordinary…" _He cocked his head towards the sleeping boy. _"He is really a beautiful little thing. But I can't keep him even if I want to…" _The wolf tried to shake his jealousy out of that annoying, lavender scented man. He gave an irritated snort before trotting off. He would be better off scavenger hunting in the castle grounds. So, he went his way down from the boy's open room to the stairs to the receiving room. Believe it or not, he spent most of his life going in and out all throughout the castle. And since he has instincts of the wild, it was normal for him to scout his surroundings and let his natural curiosity prevail. Thus, he learned that humans make remarkable things like chemicals, materials and even another human being by things called 'machines'. But besides machines and chemicals, he had learned that humans are cruel and heartless. They wouldn't mind if another life was sacrificed or hurt for the sake of satisfying their interests. So far, the interest he had heard was achieving immortality… _"Whatever that is…"_

He reared up and twisted the doorknob with his paws, along with a pulling action to swing the door ajar. He settled his paws on the ground, quite pleased with himself and used his snout to push the door open and out of his way. _"I'm such a smart creature. No wonder I'm such an item for humans…" _He thought proudly as he bounded his way out.

* * *

Sebastien sniffed and sniffed along the castle grounds and he was getting disappointed at how his hunt was slowly turning into failure. He only picked up scents of buried bones and animal carcass. No minerals or diamonds; nothing special at all.

He walked around the grounds some more. The day was still the same as it was: dull, cloudy and dark; as if the sun had forgotten to set sunlight at the place at all. But consider that as a blessing; at least the temperature wasn't so hot.

"Humans…" A voice drawled near. Sebastien looked up and saw the crazy maid standing near the tree where he was left to die almost. Angela was looking at the withered tree but what her objectives are, the wolf absolutely had no idea.

Angela reached her bruised hands at the withered tree's rotting trunk. "Why am I not perfect?"

Sebastien intriguingly stayed in his place and watched the maid talk. _"What is she up to?"_

"That filthy little princess…" She said. Though there wasn't any emotion or impact in her voice. "Why is she so precious? Precious, precious little princess…" She clawed the bark off of the tree with her dying nails and then stared as her fingertips swelled once more.

"_Isn't that going to hurt?" _Sebastien stared in astonishment, but did not move.

She fixed her dull gaze on the bark she carved out. "What makes me inferior to make you choose her over me?" She drawled on and crushed the bark on her hands slowly. "Is she more beautiful than me? Is she complete unlike me? We are of the same things… How…? How? How?" Her lips kept on asking the question again and again until she broke into an insane peal of laughter. She laughed in a way that her body shook like a marionette out of control. Sebastien was completely intimidated by her and barked at her to catch her attention. Thankfully, Angela stopped laughing and fixed her gaze upon the animal instead.

"_Uh-oh…" _Sebastien braced his paws and jaws to strike anytime if ever the maid snapped into a psychotic trance again. However, the maid spoke again; as if she was conversing to the animal. "I am a woman…"

"_Of course…" _The wolf thought. He could've rolled his eyes. _"What else could you be?"_

"She isn't… she isn't a woman… She isn't a woman…!" She went to her knees and grabbed the wolf's face to her as if she was expecting him to speak. "Why does he desire her…? Not me! Not me! Her! That precious little princess! He wants her! She isn't a woman! He wants her! NOT ME! NOT ME! Ahahahahahaha!" She ranted and laughed and waved the wolf's head from side to side. Sebastien got annoyed and tossed his head about to get her hands off of his face, but she held on and focused his face to her eyes.

"_Dammit you crazy woman!" _The wolf growled. _"Get off me!"_

"Human to human…" She said blankly. "Beast to beast…"

The latter statement hit Sebastien hard that made him froze in his place. But the maid wasn't finished ranting to him. "Complete to complete… Complete to Incomplete… NO! Human to Beast… NO! Opposites, my dear! The union of Opposites cannot be… CANNOT BE!" She tossed the wolf's head from side to side once more and laughed madly. "CANNOT BE! CANNOT BE! CANNOT BE!"

Sebastien finally snapped and growled at the hyperventilating maid. _"You freak!" _He tossed his head away from the maid's grasp and ran a distance away from her. _"Don't you dare come to me…!" _He growled as he backed away. _"She's going mad again! I have to make sure that she doesn't kill Ci…"_

Then Sebastien stopped at the thought of the boy's name. _"Human to Human… Of course… But why?" _He sat and started to ponder. _"Is it a universal rule?" _He stared at Angela who shifted her attention back to the dead tree. _"And what is she ranting about? A princess that is not a girl? And who wants who?" _He went to his paws to go back to the boy's room when he picked up a foreign scent.

"_Finally! Something different!"_

* * *

"_So how's your little project coming along?"_

"_I… threw it all away…"_

…_The man he loved was shocked. All the more, he noticed his gloomy and depressed face._

"_May I ask why?"_

…_He looked up sadly into his beloved's eyes but said nothing._

…_He felt very sad…_

"_He doesn't love me anymore…"_

* * *

"He doesn't love me…" Ciel muttered half-awake. Sebastien barked loudly to wake him up completely. _"You're dreaming about weird things again." _The wolf thought as he gave the boy a nudge at his cheek. The action woke up Ciel instantly. "Hello, Sebastien…!" He said as he stretched his arms up. "That was a nice nap so far…"

"_No doubt about it." _Sebastien sat beside the boy. Ciel sat up and gave the wolf a hug and a pat on the head.

"You must be bored Sebastien." Ciel said. "So what did you do while I was sleeping?"

"_Scavenger hunting." _The wolf thought as a reply and deposited his item for the day in front of the boy. _"By the way, I think this ring suits you!"_

"Hm?" Ciel picked up the wet object. It was a silver, ornate ring with a huge sapphire crusted in on it. "Wow! Where'd you get this?" He exclaimed as he examined the shiny object closely. "It's a very grand thing! It's beautiful!"

"_Same as your eyes…" _Sebastien gave an approving bark and started licking the boy's face. The wolf was quite frustrated about the way he was showing affection. Licking faces was all he could do and it wasn't human enough for Ciel to know how much a lick could mean. _"The ring suits you very well."_

Ciel put the ring on his thumb since, putting the ring on his middle finger spaced the surrounding fingers away because the hugeness of the jewelry. "It's very lovely, Sebastien!" He said as he fiddled the ring around his thumb. "You've given so much to me already that I…" He paused and looked at the wolf sitting beside him. "I wonder what you're thinking to give me an item like this? I couldn't thank you enough…" He blushed as he stared at the ring again. "It's like an engagement ring…"

"_A what…?"_

"Do you know what an engagement ring is, Sebastien?" Ciel wrapped an arm around the wolf. "It is something that binds two people with love and devotion and nobody else… or maybe something else." He paused for a bit; quite unsure about the real meaning of 'engagement'. "But I'm not sure that's what it means… Or is it a wedding ring…?"

"_Nevermind that!" _Sebastien moved close to the boy. _"Engagement ring or Wedding ring or whatever ring that is, it means you're mine, then!" _The wolf concluded._ "Human to Human… Beast to Beast isn't it? I'll break that rule! See that I can!"_

"Funny… I'm engaged to you, Sebastien!" Ciel laughed as he embraced the wolf fully. "I wonder what I could give you to tell everyone that we're actually engaged?" He giggled. "That would be a funny thing to tell Ash…"

Sebastien growled.

"Oh…!" Ciel remembered how he molested the man and a blush returned to his face. "I almost forgot! What should I do? I harassed him!"

"_Hmph! That guy deserved it!" _The wolf snorted in annoyance. _"And I thought we're engaged…!"_

Ciel got out of his bed and proceeded to the drawers. "I must find him immediately and apologize!" He said as he chose his outfit carefully: a black, silk ribbon; cotton, white, long and bell-cuffed sleeved shirt; dark gray waistcoat and a pair of shorts. In other words, his usual wardrobe. But he still can't get used to the fact that his shorts were thigh-high; too revealing. But that's all he had for now. He sighed as he started buttoning out his night-shirt. "I wonder what I'm going to say to him…"

Sebastien took all the liberty he had to look at the boy's garment-free body. _"No wonder that pervert loves to touch you." _

* * *

Ash thought his scheme all over. The boy had kissed him and that meant something.

… There was something he can't quite define. Of all the things he had done so far, this was the first time he had thought over the next things he would do. The plan was to build up some sort of 'attachment' to the boy and let that attachment enable him to use the Azoth. That was the plan but somehow…

"Why?" He frowned as his hands unconsciously played the piano. He felt… resentful. Why? Why did he feel that there was something wrong with his plans?

… No, it was probably the music affecting his thinking. Yes it does…

Not so far away, Angela watched him play the piano flawlessly. He unconsciously played a seemingly soothing melody; somehow nostalgic for her. She was dusting the balcony's railings until he entered the room and started playing. She stopped and listened intently.

Ash's voice broke through the piece he was playing; finally recognizing her presence. "Don't you have anything else to do, Angela?"

She resumed her chore in silence and he kept on playing. Finally, when he hit the final note, she spoke again. "Why her?"

He sighed in annoyance as he tidied up the piano. "Are we going to discuss this again?"

"My master said I'm a perfect woman." She said slowly. "Why do you desire that filthy princess and not me?"

"Don't you dare insult him, Angela."

She suddenly quickened her tempo of speaking; somehow tensed. "We're made of the same things! What makes her any different?"

He stood up from the bench and glared at her. "He has what I want and…" His sentence lingered; apparently trying to term that _thing _that the boy alone has, but he cannot define it entirely. He shook his head to forget about it and wished nothing more but to conclude the conversation. "Don't you understand anything, woman?"

"What is it that I lack?"

"Everything." He said flatly.

"NO!" She screamed and her expression changed into distress and complete anxiety. She tore her uniform's front open and showed to him her flawless and completely feminine body. "I… I have everything a woman has! My f-face…! My breasts…! My waist…! Everything…!" She tore her dress completely and showed her everything to him. "I am a woman…!" She cried. "I have everything!"

He looked at her naked form and stood completely unmoved. "The essence of a woman." He said and closed the piano. "That is what you lack." And in his thoughts, he continued: "…And something more that you don't have."

A tear leaked out of her eye. "Essence…?" She collapsed to her knees, staring at his retreating form. "I lack… essence…?"

"I have no use for you." He left the room without a glance. She hung her head low, hopeless, disappointed. It wasn't fair…

It's definitely not fair…

She contemplated…

She plotted…

She smiled and looked up; a glint of twisted hope in her eyes.

"Azoth…"

* * *

**A/n: **Yay! I'm back! Let's just say I said in my New Year's Resolution that I'll finish this fanfic before I get around to make new ones. So first of, let me finish this one.

I'm sorry dudes, but **Hell In A Cup** will be waiting for a while!

I will update this fanfic monthly since I said in my New Year's Resolution to write 1 chapter per day so that I'll finish this whole thing faster! Once I get the entire fanfic done, I could update from monthly to weekly!

So, see you on **February 11**!

Please review! It helps me to keep going! Also, visit DeviantArt and look for the **Iunctum of Adversus blank meme**! But only if you're bored though!

*shot for shameless self promotion*


	21. Paeniteo

_**Chapter 19: Paeniteo**_

"NO, Sebastien!" Ciel scolded for the nineteenth time. It was amazing how long his patience held out despite his urgency to find his servant. "You have already given me this ring and that's enough hunting for shiny things. NOW."

Sebastien deposited the twentieth antique disk he had uncovered from the floor in front of his master. They were scouting the castle and they were in the Mars Exhibit and no sign or a whiff of Ash's scent anywhere. Actually, the wolf wasn't making any effort to follow the boy's objective. Instead, he continued his scavenger hunting but this time, inside the castle. Ciel obviously mistook him following his orders but apparently, the wolf wasn't. _"I never thought this place has more shiny things around than outside!" _The wolf thought as he continued sniffing around.

Ciel sighed and shook his head. "Sebastien's acting strange lately." He thought as he picked up the disk from the floor and dusted it. He didn't understand why the wolf was suddenly searching for intricate pieces of metal. He looked at the disk… well not exactly circular. It was octagonal in shape and it had a disk filling its middle. The frame was red and had runes all around it. The disk was gold and had a rune-like symbol on it; much like a central design. Whatever the disk or medallion was, it must be for something useful. So, he stuffed the disk inside the knapsack he had thought of carrying. They had twenty disks so far; each disk differed in color: blue, silver, green, plain bronze, and every color metallic.

Sebastien uncovered another plain bronze disk again. _"This place has a lot of shiny stuff!" _He said as he wagged his tail; half-teasing and half-amusing the boy in his achievement and disobedience. Ciel was not amused as he picked up the disk and stashed it in his bag.

"Okay, Sebastien." He sighed and knelt down to go down to the wolf's eye level. "Sit. I told you to look for Ash, didn't I?"

Sebastien snorted. _"Yeah right…"_

"Let's find him first." The boy stared into the animal's eyes. "Please?"

"_No. Way." _The wolf averted his eyes away from the boy. But Ciel held his face and turned his gaze back into his pleading blue eyes. This was something Sebastien could not resist from gaining a second thought. He could see the intense urgency of the boy to find the pervert and he did not like seeing Ciel upset.

"Please?"

"_Oh, alright…" _Sebastien responded with a bark; submitting immediately to those eyes. _"Darn it…"_

Ciel smiled and kissed his forehead. "Thanks, Sebastien." He giggled and embraced him. "Gee, have I told you that you're really warm and cuddly?"

Sebastien snuggled into the embrace. _"Flattery will get you nowhere."_

"Hey Sebastien, you know Ash's scent don't you?"

"_No." _The wolf laid his ears back and pretended not to hear him; quite forgetting his submission almost immediately. He pretended to go back to scavenger hunting and sniffed along the floor. _"That annoying lavender scent… Grr!"_

"Good! Sniff him for me, boy!" Ciel said encouragingly and followed him along. "Now if you're actually searching for shiny things again, you won't get a kiss or a hug from me next time."

"_Ah… darn it!"_

"I wonder why I said that?" Ciel thought but shrugged the thought off as soon as the wolf started moving.

* * *

"D-do you think he's actually here?" Ciel trembled and swallowed. The wolf had led him to Pluto's hut and he could remember very well what happened down the chapel last time. For sure, Pluto will come out and chase their heels all over again. "Are you sure, Sebastien?"

Sebastien sniffed the air. _"Positive." _He reared up to the plank of wood boarded up on the entrance of the hut; supposedly a door. _"I smell that annoying lavender here." _He pawed the door and barked at him. _"Let me check it out for you?"_

Ciel approached the door cautiously; half-hesitant to venture inside it. He could smell the strong scent of the moldy straw and something rotten he refused to figure out what. He gave a glance at Sebastien before pushing the plank to give way to them.

"_I'm right behind you. Don't worry."_

He didn't go inside immediately. He waited for something to come out but after a minute or so, nothing came bounding out or running whatsoever. But still, he refused to assume that everything was safe. He took a light and noiseless step; sort of sneaking in. He also gestured to the wolf to keep silent.

"_Careful. Pluto is here…!" _Sebastien missed the habit of biting at his tail-coat as a fair warning to the boy of an approaching danger. But he kept silent and kept himself close to the boy's heels.

Ciel looked around the hut's interior. It looked nothing more like an over-sized garden shed since there were picks, shovels and rakes propped on the walls; and shelves with cans and clippers and all sorts of hand-sized equipment for gardening. Also, a wheelbarrow and a scarecrow were in that huge open space of a… bedroom?

"So this is Pluto's home?" He sounded quite upset and disturbed and a bit pitiful. "Maybe if only he wasn't so… broken… He could've had his own room in the castle?" He walked in to the open space. There was a broken bed on the corner and some kind of dusty and cobwebbed broiler or a heater near the edge of the bed. On the opposite side of the bed, there was a huge altar-like structure. He squinted and approached that altar. It was only composed of a table with an intricately woven tablecloth. On top of the table, there were scattered feathers, lit candles and of course, dolls of all kinds. They were similar to the kind of dolls that he saw in the nursery but the big difference was, the dolls have wings. He swallowed and inspected the dolls closer. The wings were from an actual live origin and they appeared to be ripped off of that origin and badly stitched together on the backs of the dolls. However, one doll stood out most among the collection of dolls in the table. This doll was the largest; made of velvet; fine, black string-hair tied into a ponytail; blue glass eyes; and eagle's wings. Its dress was a white silk sheet trimmed with lace and crystal beads on the hem-lines and a silver ribbon was wound around its waist like a belt. Apparently, the doll was well-kept since it was the only one that didn't appear sooty and patchy. The doll was hung above all the collection of dolls on the table; like a goddess above the lesser ones.

"_Looks like this guy is obsessed with that goddess." _Sebastien thought as he reared up to look at the table along with Ciel. _"Does that doll look familiar to you too?"_

"Iustitia…" The boy breathed. "He worships her intently. Maybe he's the one attending to that chapel…"

"RAAAAARGGHHH!"

Ciel gasped and spun around at the snarl and he found himself face to face with Pluto. The deranged man seemed to be glaring at him; perhaps angry and looking for vengeance for the huge scratches and bruises that resulted from their fight in the chapel. The boy could smell the blood and the pus emanating from that swelling and infecting wounds. He backed up and looked fearfully at him, for the man was staring at him with his teeth bared and claw-like hands outstretching to him. Sebastien growled and prepared himself to spring if ever the man made another move. _"Hurt him again and I'll kill you!"_

However, Pluto didn't grab or snatch the boy as expected. Instead, his vengeful expression changed into horror and awe. He fell to his knees and put his hands together, as if in prayer. Furthermore, he was howling and moaning like an injured dog as he bowed down to Ciel's feet as if asking for mercy.

"_What the…?"_

Ciel was shocked was quite relieved that Pluto wasn't terrorizing him any longer. But he was puzzled as to why the man had suddenly shown this submissive behavior. Pluto crawled up to him and pulled at his ankles. "Forgiveness…! Forgiveness!" The man cried and latched on to his ankles which prevented Ciel from going away.

"F-for what?" Ciel trembled in tension. "Now this is odd…"

"Hurt you! Hurt you!" Pluto answered and continued to cry and held his feet tighter. "I hurt 'Ustitia! Hurt "Ustitia!"

Ciel thought it over. Maybe he'll stay safe as long as he answered Pluto correctly. "Why did you hurt her?"

Pluto howled even more. "Mistook her for Dolly!... Mistook Dolly as 'Ustitia!"

"I'm sure you didn't mean it?"

"Meant it! Meant it!"

Ciel didn't know what to answer next. He guessed he must speak kindly to him even more. "I know you're not bad Pluto. I know you're not."

Pluto raised his eyes to him. Ciel could see genuine tears and his wanting for mercy and pardon. "Everyone is innately good in their own way. It's just… you are… misunderstood." He swallowed; quite guilty from the words coming out of his lips. "It's really unkind that everybody fears you because of who… what you are."

Pluto smiled. From a destructive looking madman, he looked like an innocent freak deprived of understanding. Ciel sighed and almost cried. He was guilty of being among those who had misunderstood him too. "Maybe deep inside, he needs a friend." He thought.

Sebastien stopped growling and sensed that everything was going alright. Pluto seemed to have calmed down and lost that hunter look from his eyes. The wolf sat down and watched them.

"Stand up, Pluto." Ciel held up his face gently and stared into his eyes. "You've done nothing wrong." He said as he helped the man rise up.

"H… hail you, 'Ustitia…!" Pluto said through his struggle of vocabulary. "H…hail you 'Ustitia!" He bowed again and again in worship.

"_Hail him indeed!" _Sebastien thought as he went close to the boy and stood there like his steward.

Pluto's wounds bothered Ciel completely. "I wish I could do something more than alleviate his guilt."

Suddenly the man pulled out something familiar from his clothes. It was one of those disks that Sebastien had wasted time over instead of looking for Ash. Pluto happily showed it to Ciel before limping towards the broiler like machine at the end of the bed. He swatted away the heavy looking cobwebs and blew away the dust-balls that had accumulated all over the machine. Ciel had a glimpse of the machine; it looked nothing of a broiler but still it was quite familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The machine had some kind of board that displayed ten small black spheres in some kind of formation. Under the board, there was a slot and this is where Pluto suddenly pushed in the disk. Also, he pulled a lever just beside the board that caused the machine to vibrate and hum and the spheres on the board started to flash different colors: gold, white, red, blue, green and black. He turned and looked at Ciel happily. "Machina! Machina!" He said loudly and happily clapped in amusement at the flashing colors.

"So that's what those things are for!" Ciel said in amazement and pulled out the collection of disks that they had accumulated. "I've got more! See?"

Pluto jumped up and down and clapped happily. Then he pulled the lever again and all of the spheres stopped at the color white. "Machina! Machina!"

"It's a matching game!" Ciel cried happily and joined Pluto. He pushed in a red disk and pulled the lever. "My turn!"

Sebastien rolled his eyes. _"Oh here we go…" _The scene was quite… anticlimactic. At the beginning they were all scared out of their wits and the next second, everybody eagerly joined the game of roulette. The wolf watched boringly at the two childish creatures in front of him.

"_Haha. He didn't notice that I lied to him."_ Sebastien decided to ignore the two and continued trailing that lavender scent. He reached under Pluto's worn-out bed to see whatever thing the annoying scent linked to. Instead of an item belonging to the servant's property, he saw a pitiful amount of lavender flowers growing out on the ground. _"Heh… wrong item."

* * *

_

**A/n: **Urgh... I'm not doing so well with my writing. One chapter took me a month to write because I fail at writing... scenes... *shot*

Anyway, I'm 5 chapters ahead. I'm really not doing well. Let's see each other again on **March 11**!

Rate & Review!


	22. Obligatus

_**Chapter 20: Obligatus **_

"Blue! Blue!" Ciel crossed his hands as he prayed for the colorful roulette to stop at his desired combination. He had two whites, two greens, three reds and three blues connected with a corresponding colored line. Even though he didn't know what those matching colors meant, he was sure that the machine would drop something as a prize. So far, he had collected a handful of colorful marbles, three silver tins of pills, two vials of colored liquid and some moist stones. Pluto, on the other hand, mostly had marbles, tiny rainbow-colored shards and stones. He seems to be familiar with them since he handled them with utmost care, or maybe it was just his child-like curiosity.

The last circle stopped in a gold color but the lines connecting the colors connected to it anyway. The "Machina" hummed and a sound clanked from a cat-flap at the very bottom of the machine. Pluto clapped happily as Ciel reached for his prize: it was a silver chain with gold sickle moons and stars; spaced evenly throughout the chain. "This is wonderful!" He exclaimed as he held it up to his eyes. An idea went into his mind immediately. "Sebastien, come here!"

Sebastien stretched his limbs as he got up from his nap and answered the boy's summons immediately. _"What do you want?"_

"Be still for a bit…" Ciel wounded the chain around the wolf's neck. "There!" He said happily. "I've got a ring from you. You get a necklace from me. Now we're even!"

"_Interesting. Thank you, dear."_

A tap from the boy's shoulder called his attention. As soon as he turned around, Pluto giddily presented to him a familiar item.

"The Saturnus key!" Ciel exclaimed as he picked up the item from the man's hands. "I forgot all about it!"

Sebastien's happiness flickered out completely. _"… Are you still thinking of… letting me go?"_

Ciel's expression turned melancholic when he turned to the wolf. He grasped the key tightly. "I… it's the right thing to do."

"_I don't believe it!" _Sebastien growled. Wolves can't cry, apparently. They couldn't shed tears or have lips to give kisses or fingers to touch or a tongue to speak human language. He couldn't express how upset and angry he was at his decision. _"After all that—!" _

"Sebastien!" Ciel called out worriedly when the wolf suddenly ran away. "Come back!"

… As the wolf ran, the animal could hear himself whimper.

* * *

"S-sebas—!" Ciel slumped at a nearby wall to catch his breath. He had scouted in and out of the castle to search for his lost companion. Nighttime had fallen and he still had no clue to where the wolf had gone. "He must be really upset… He completely understands me…" He closed his eyes and sat on the ground. "It's the right thing to do but…"

He was at the grounds where the other entrance of the Lunar Panels and chapel were. The moths had swarmed all over the lighted lamp posts; the flies flitted quickly over brambles; the crickets chirped in an endless harmony and the moon half shone and cast obscure shadows over the gnarled and ancient trees nearby. Despite the solemnity of the night, he couldn't feel calm and safe.

"Where are you, Sebastien?"

As soon as he regained his proper breathing pattern, he got up to his feet and got ready to scout all around the castle again. He stopped in his tracks and thought things over. Yes, he had loved the creature like a dear friend and felt incomplete without him. He really wanted him to be his for life but domestication was against a wolf's nature. They were born to be free and be masters of themselves.

What kind of life did Sebastien want? A life of devotion or a life of freedom?

"Arrghhh!" He shook his head furiously and gritted his teeth. "I wish I could understand him!" He gripped his hair in frustration. "I want to ask him what he really wants! What does he feel about me?"

The sapphire ring on his finger twinkled under the moonlight and caught his attention immediately. He rubbed the huge stone on the ring and sighed sadly. He playfully called the jewelry as an 'engagement ring' and reminded him of the wolf's admirable devotion to him as a protector and a companion. His fingers shook at the thought of pulling it off. He couldn't bear to do it but at the same time, he wanted to do it so that he won't have any feelings of regret when the time comes to let his friend go.

A snowy white owl hooted in a nearby tree. The sound distracted him and made him turn to look at the animal.

"His happiness matters to me… I can't give up now."

The owl gave another hoot before taking flight. The bird flew towards the moon in a somehow angelic grace. This prompted Ciel to move on and forget his dilemma about the ring.

_

* * *

_

Sebastien watched an owl fly across the full moon. The scene brought him even more melancholy. For hours he had avoided the boy whenever he had sniffed a whiff of his scent every time. The latest location he had fled to was the outdoor lounge where the tree he was left to die on stood there. That tree had his most memorable memory and it was where he had met Ciel; like a second chance at life.

"_I shouldn't have had stuck with him! Why have I ever thought of such a thing?"_ He snorted. _"I only planned to get him out of this place… Ah, I know. It's my fault to have forgotten my plan."_

He thought over his mistake again and again. He realized that the consequence of forgetting his plans was his feelings for the human.

"_And now he's doing all he can to get rid of me!"_

Devotion. Not Love. Attempting to break the universal law seemed to be impossible. Perhaps that crazy maid was saying sense after all; the Union of Opposites simply cannot be. The union of a Human to a Beast is impossible for countless and provable reasons.

"_Yes, I swore to the moon to be at his side forever." _The wolf looked at the moon and remembered the night when he had made the oath. Tonight's time was the anniversary of that oath-taking and now, he was having doubts to what he had done. _"I must've underestimated the consequences. I shouldn't have been so brash…"_

The silver chain around his neck jingled when he scratched his ear with his hind leg. The tiny sound reminded him of his bondage of devotion to the boy as well as his foolishness of developing such an emotion. He used his hind leg to pry the thing off but the chain was wound tightly on him that it seemed impossible to get it off. He threw his head around wildly and desperately but the chain remained stuck around his neck.

"_This will probably be my lifetime leash unless I could do something to break this." _He circled about in his place as was his habit when he's absorbed in his thought. _"Without sacrificing myself, of course."_

He stretched his front paws down to the ground and proceeded to lie on the ground. _"I have to think things over more…"_

The owl's hoots lulled him into a refreshing sleep.

* * *

For the third time around, Ciel went inside the creepy music room that contained a pregnant statue of himself. For the nth time he refused to look at it and scouted the room again in concentration though his mind was terribly fatigued and he seemed groggy.

"He's not here either…" He groaned and sighed. He turned to exit the room to continue his search but his foot unfortunately got caught by one of the peg legs of the fallen bookcase thus, he stumbled and clumsily regained his balance moments later.

"Snap it all…" He cursed and tapped his ankles to check their condition. "I'm losing my motivation."

Suddenly, music played from the balcony again and it was the very same piece that he had listened to before being talked about by some prophecy. Ill feelings made his stomach churn as if in repulsion to the very idea of that man impregnating him.

"That, my dear, is what you WILL BECOME in the future!" The pregnant statue mocking him of the thought…

"WHO ARE YOU?" Ciel screamed up; his troubling thoughts and the seemingly insane piano keys intimidating him. He had to know who that menace was!

The music stopped and a familiar voice cut the silence. "Did my young master not like my performance?"

Ciel gasped and clasped his mouth. "Darnit! DARNIT!" He blushed in embarrassment and couldn't muster words on how to make an excuse about the awkward situation. "I have shouted at the wrong person!" He shook in anxiety as he remained in silence. "Why must Ash be here in—?"

His mind immediately prompted certain matters that he needed to clarify with him. "Oh… about that…"

The boy's train of thought broke when the servant spoke again. "It seems like my performance was mediocre. I apologize, my lord." Ash seemed upset and the tone troubled the boy very much. Ciel quickly made a move to start a conversation immediately and to settle everything once and for all. "N-no! I should be the one apologizing!" The boy called loudly. "Please stay for a while!"

Silence.

"About that time… I'm sorry. I just… didn't know what I was thinking because I…" Ciel stuttered and heat was quickly rushing to his face, his stomach seemed to be doing back-flips and his palms were starting to feel damp and clammy. Now or never. "I d-did that… B-because I… L-LIKE YOU!"

The statement he had just declared from his mouth seemed to echo all over his mind. He saw Ash appear from the railings; his expression unclear because of the distance. But what he said just now tolled on his self-esteem and he couldn't help but refuse to gaze at the eyes of the other in shame. "I like you Ash. Y-you must know…"

"Why is that a big concern to you, young master?" Ash said in a cold tone. "It's normal for us to like people—"

"Not the normal way!" Ciel closed his eyes; not wishing to see or feel condemning eyes. "I… I don't care if you're a man. I want you to do impossible things to me sometimes…!"

Silence lingered a little while before Ciel continued. "T-this is abnormal, I know!" His tears were attempting to leak out and his effort of holding them back was apparent in his voice. "The thoughts… You drive me crazy!"

"So, after I have listened to this confession of yours," Ash's tone seemed to voice out indifference and disgust. "What do you expect me to do?"

Ciel cried. He had made his mind prepared for this kind of rejection but the impact of the situation seemed too heavy to take. "I-I don't know…!"

A slam of a door from above concluded his feelings of rejection.

"He's disgusted of me… I knew it…!" Ciel furiously wiped off his tears and broke into a run to leave the place.

_

* * *

_

Ash felt elated. He didn't know how to describe the emotion. His breath was racing and he didn't know whatever was happening.

"No… No, what's happening to me? I shouldn't indulge in this… _foolishness_."

…But a small smile unconsciously broke in his face and it wasn't of smugness or triumph. Just genuine happiness and…

He leaned back against the door in submission to the confusion. "I'm getting distracted." He sighed and clenched his fists. "I have abandoned humanity. I must not return to it. No."

He recalled his plan again. Ciel must be his, no matter what. Whether the boy likes it or not, but…

He stopped plotting altogether to find an outlet for his frustration.

* * *

**A/n: **I'm still not doing well... I'm so disappointed with myself! *bawls in a corner as she attempts to write at least a page*

Anyways... let's see each other on **April 11**!

Read & Review! Thanks!


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